Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter

The band behind the brand name

"Our name is a mashup," says Jen Caldwell of Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter. Just as the Atlanta quartet has melded the name of the late pop-culture icon (Anna Nicole Smith) with the signature theme song (and biopic title) of the legendary Loretta Lynn, the band's sound is also a composite. But don't expect any country music in the mix. "We call it punk-indie rock with a hard twist," she explains. "The guys are from the school of metal and I'm more from indie rock. With us, each song is sort of in its own genre."

??
The name seems lifted from a recent episode of "Entertainment Tonight," but Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter was actually born in October 2005. "It's a shout to two things we really dig, for totally different reasons," Caldwell explains. "Some people would have seen it as disrespectful if we had named the band after her death. But we had the name way before she had a daughter."

??
Vocalist/bassist Caldwell and the boys (Fran Gilbert, Jamie Caldwell and Freddie Gilbert) briefly considered a name change after Smith's death. But unlike Athens' I Am the World Trade Center, for example, they decided to stick with it. "I definitely don't think it stirred that same kind of emotion in people as I Am the World Trade Center had to deal with. That was tragedy on a whole different level. Really, I think Anna Nicole would have loved our name."

??
A number of Smith's followers have supported the rockers' tenacious decision. "A lot of hardcore fans have added us on MySpace just because of our name, and then got into the music. And," she laughs, "I've never had anyone say, 'What's your band name again?'"

??
Anna NicoleMiner's Daughter plays 10 High at 10 p.m. Fri., May 18. Rock City Dropouts and Black Daniels share the bill. 816 N. Highland Ave. www.tenhighclub.com.