RAYGUN, FORMERLY KNOWN AS SMASH, scustomers gathered at the store Friday night for the “Name Change Party.” Photo: Tiffany Krause

“RAYGUN: the store that used to be called SMASH until some A’holes in California made us change it.”

So reads one of the new T-shirts sold by RAYGUN, formerly known as SMASH T-shirts. The successful Des Moines-based company, established in 2005 by Mike Draper, was recently forced to change their moniker to avoid a lawsuit.

“We could have battled it out in the courts for a few years, but having a junior partner at a law firm paying for his first Volvo plus four years of Montessori pre-school with SMASH legal bills didn’t really appeal to me,” Draper said in the most recent issue of RAYGUN Magazine.

The company is known for producing catchy, well-designed T-shirts with original and borrowed slogans. Shirts have utilized quotes from Jack Kerouac (“The prettiest girls in the world live in Des Moines”) and the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams” (“Is this heaven?” “No, it’s Iowa”).

Drake University student organizations have used the company for their T-shirt needs for years.

“I think it’s sad because they’re established in Des Moines as SMASH, but I don’t have any concerns their products will be of less quality,” said Robb Krehbiel, a junior. “I think SMASH lovers will still go to SMASH, regardless of the name change.”

Other names suggested for the change were “Shirtless Straight Men and a Store Filled with the Over-Powering Scent of Cologne,” “American Embroidered Wild Animal” and “Chuff&Whistle,” among others, according to RAYGUN Magazine.

The company will be selling T-shirts on Drake’s campus from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4 in the Olmsted Breezeway. Shirts cost $15.