It was a day of disappointment turned to joy; of depression turned to rejoicing; of defeat turned to success; of analogue turned to digital.

And of sleep deprivation turned to near carnage.

After finishing university, Xav finally decided to put some real effort into getting the band back together. He had, after all, been writing songs throughout the previous couple of years, and felt that it was time to do them justice, or do them in - whichever seemed appropriate at the time.

A venue was set; Alex's place. A date was set; the 21st December, 1998. People were informed. People bailed out.

First was Joe, with some lame excuse about graduating that day. We let him off, on account of the fact that Dave Murphy seemed so enthusiastic. "I don't know if I'll be able to make the whole day," he said, "but I'll certainly come along for a song or two." Trust us, from DM that's very enthusiastic. Furthermore, he had a friend who had become intrigued by the concept of the jam and wanted to come too.

Things were looking up; Alex also had a friend who wanted to join us. Admittedly Dave Hailey had disappeared off the face of the earth, and Michelle couldn't make it, but that still left us with six people (including Todd, Alex's wife).

The number of people that actually turned up? 3: Xav, Alex and Todd.

Nevertheless, the jam went ahead. And I have to say that it was probably one of the best to date, in musical terms. Perhaps it was the new songs (the first batch to have been written by Xav on the guitar). Perhaps it was the new equipment (new mics and an 8-track digital recorder, giving better quality than previous recordings, and making the whole system easier to set up). Perhaps it was the new venue. Or the change from pizza to curry (though that one seems a little far fetched). Who knows.

If there was one problem with the jam, it was in its length. In total there is only about 15-20 minutes of worthwhile material, once it's been mixed down. Because of this, and because it would be nice to get the band together again, the plans are currently to mix it down to tape (a date has been sent), and send copies to key members of the band (DM & DH in particular) in the hope of convincing them that we really can sound good, and that it might be worth one more try.

If we can persuade them, it is hoped that we will fit in a jam in the first half of 1998 (so as not to clash with the real 1998 St. C's) with the aim of producing enough decent material for a small run of CDs (small as in done by hand on a CD-R) highlighting the best bits of the 97/98 jam(s).

P.S. If you're wondering about the sleep deprivation, Xav spent the previous day loading his gear into the car, driving to Alex's, unloading, going to London to buy the digital recorder, returning to Alex's, and going to a party. He failed to sleep at said party, before going back to Alex's the next day, setting up, playing the jam, setting down, lugging everything back into the car, and driving home. Suffice to say that on the way home he awoke to find himself driving the American way!!!

P.P.S. In fact the early '98 jam never really happened, although Xav, Alex and Joe did get together on one occasion, during which Xav was heard (and recorded) saying "It Hath Whirred Into Life" as the ADAT began to run up to speed. A few weeks later Xav decided to put together a compilation CD of some of the "best" of the Lovesticks - and also threw on the majority of the 1997 jam. The CD as a whole was titled "It Hath Whirred Into Life", and this name has naturally been extended to be the title of the '97 jam. Because the basic performers at the jam were Xav and Alex, the band title was set as "The Bertillons".