FAQ: Where Did the Name RAYGUN Come From?

Where did the name RAYGUN come from?

This is the number 1 question we've gotten. 

The short answer: we used to be called SMAH until someone tried to sue us! 

The store opened as SMASH in 2005, and in 2008 we got a cease and desist letter from a company in California called SMASH.

We decided it would be cheaper to change our name. So we started making a list of words. RAYGUN landed on that list because Mars Cafe in Des Moines had a "Rock vs Ray Gun" DJ night. 

We liked that it was a noun, spelled correctly, even number of letters. And we could trademark it! 

I always wish that there was a better story than that. 

But  a lot of business is reacting to things that are out of your control. It's planning and reaction. 

Most people think of a plan and then steady growth for that plan.

Really, it's more like dropping your plan into a Plinko course -- bouncing into obstacles and seeing where you land. 

SMASH was the plan. It had a back-story. It was named after the first CD I ever bought -- The Offspring's Smash. 

Our original font and style was southern-California-punk -- typewriter font, heavy distressing, etc. 

But that font has issues as well -- hard to blow up, not as readable, too pigeon-holed stylistically. 

So we moved our font around the time that we changed names. 

Our core content remained anchored to our 3 pillars -- funny, midwestern, progressive.

But the name an appearance changed. 

That's the balance: consistent enough to have a voice, flexible enough to change when needed. 

I'd love to chalk this place up to my own genius and planning, but a lot of our major decisions were just things that were out of our control!