Jan. 24, 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of OSU-based rock band Hard Times’ debut gig in the Bloss Hall lounge on the same date in 1975. Although the band was only active for shortly over a year, Hard Times left a strong impact on the community and remains an unforgettable experience for its lead singer Jeff Guterman.

“Sometimes I took it a little bit for granted,” said Guterman. “But looking back, I don’t take it for granted at all, because I’ve realized it was something special.”

The story of Hard Times started on the steps outside Gill Coliseum in the winter of 1975, where a young Guterman sulked after participating in an uninspired choir performance. By chance, another choir member chose the same spot to take refuge. His name was Dave Woodward, and upon hearing of Woodward’s passion for drumming, the gears began to turn in Guterman’s mind.

“I thought ‘we can put a band together’ because this guy on my floor in Finley Hall was a really good keyboardist,” said Guterman. “And then I had a brother who was still in high school in Lake Oswego, and he’d been getting better and better as a guitarist.”

The group came together under the name Hard Times, with Guterman as the lead vocalist and manager, Woodward on drums, Dave Deckenback on keyboard and Guterman’s younger brother Kurt on guitar. Just a few days after their first practice in the basement of Bloss Hall, they were already playing their first gig in the lounge right above them.

“We didn’t have enough songs. We didn’t have enough equipment. The keyboardist didn’t have a keyboard, (so) we took a microphone on a stand and stuck it into a piano,” said Guterman. “During a break, the guitarist actually had to teach the keyboardist one of the songs.”

Fighting through the time crunch, the lackluster equipment and the nerves that come with standing in front of over a hundred familiar faces for three hours, Hard Times put on a dazzling debut performance. While most other bands at the time were playing hard rock, Guterman and the boys distinguished themselves by playing lighter ‘60s songs that college-aged students had grown up listening to. They were such a hit that more gigs came rolling in immediately after their first show, and that momentum didn’t stop.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Jeff Guterman

A proof of Payment from Hard Times' gig at Cauthorn Hall.

Over the course of the next year and a half, Hard Times made countless stops at fraternities, sororities and residence halls. They even played a show at the Inn at Spanish Head, which was the third of three gigs they had in a 30-hour stretch. Perhaps their most impressive performance came at Arnold Dining Hall, where they drew an audience of over one thousand people.

“The Fire Marshall would not have been pleased! Luckily, when I looked out at the crowd, all I saw were smiling faces,” Guterman wrote in an email. “That sort of event could never happen today, but back then … if you wanted to have fun, you went out.”

Even though you’re unlikely to see over a thousand students crammed into Arnold for a student band nowadays, Guterman still encourages current students with a love of music to act on their passion as he and the rest of Hard Times did 50 years ago.

“Just do it,” said Guterman. “Keep your eyes and ears open for other people. Because there are people floating around who are good musicians and aren’t in bands. You can put the pieces together.”