“The” T-Shirt’s design is derived from the gouged-out headstock of Bill Monroe’s mandolin on display in the Hall of Fame & Museum.

In the early 1950’s Bill Monroe used a pocket knife to gouge out the pearl inlay Gibson from his mandolin headstock. Monroe had given his mandolin to the Gibson repair shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. When the repair work was deemed unacceptable by Monroe, he took out his frustrations with the company by removing their name from the instrument leaving “The”.