Hazelden checks in — to Hazelden’s name

Name yourself after rehab -- they said no, no, no ...

That's what Hazelden is finding. The L.A. rock quartet last week heard from a Minnesota-based law firm representing the prominent drug and alcohol treatment facility Hazelden. Would the band please change its name?

"I'm not sure what we're going to do yet," says front woman Mary Jane Snow, who says the band is named for Hedley Hazelden (1915-2001), a highly decorated World War II airman and test pilot [pictured above, with Hazelden]. Snow says her unsigned band can't afford legal representation. The foursome just released its initial EP.

Seems to me a lot of bands are having trouble with their names recently; it's obvious from the existence of RSI-inducing names like WFANFC and SSLYBY that all the good band names are taken. Afternoons -- the local outfit helmed by members of Irving -- might be looking for a new moniker because of the almost-forgotten Welsh band from a couple decades ago called the Afternoons. The L.A. band Muso recently renamed itslef Les Blanks because of trademark issues. And the Switch switched to Le Switch last year after finding that Switches were a dime a dozen.

We'll see about Hazelden -- for now, Snow says, her band is preparing for Sunday night's big show at the House of Blues Anaheim. The quartet is opening for the New York Dolls.

Other highlights for the weekend, March 7-9

Tonight: Delta Spirit, picking up steam on the strength of its great late-'07 release "Ode to Sunshine," headline the Troubadour, with the Virgins and Port O'Brien (nice album coming May 13) also on the bill. ... Youngsters the Jakes and Billy Boy on Poison head up a big bill at the Roxy. ... Division Day and the A-Sides are at Spaceland. ... Cool Kiwis Die! Die! Die! play the Echo. ... Why? and Yacht play at the Natural History Museum's First Fridays shindig. ... And Rademacher is squeezing into Pehrspace.

Saturday night: Liam Finn and the Heavenly States play at Spaceland, though Pela has had to drop off the bill because of a hand injury sustained by its guitarist. ... The Dodos play the Silverlake Lounge (it's a 4:30 p.m. early show). ... Whispertown 2000 plays El Cid, while LoveLikeFire comes back into town for a show at Bordello that includes Light FM. ... And there's a cool Air Don't Sleep show at Crash Mansion.

Sunday night: Travis Sullivan's Bjorkestra is quite a spectacle -- the band plays Safari Sam's. ... And Big Business is at Spaceland, with the Cops.

-- Kevin Bronson