It was a heckuva time last night in Long Beach! A bunch of us L.A. scenesters rang in the new year at the beautiful old Scottish Rite Cathedral, a hundred-year-old massive building that is really nice. It was a great lineup of L.A. bands—Grey DeLisle with Eddie Clendening and his band, the doo-wop sounds of Lil’ Mo and the Dynaflos, I played a set of Western swing classics with Dave “D.B.” Berzansky, Brad Fordham, and Lisa Pankratz. Rosie Flores the Rockabilly Filly tore it up, and then Dave Alvin did a really rockin’ set, with tons of old Blasters songs throughout.
It was one of those magical things, Dave got Rosie and I up for “Auld Lang Syne” and then a rockin’ encore of the Blasters classic “Marie Marie”—even joined by Blaster John Bazz to really rip it up before they threw us out of the place. I told Dave and John after the show, “Marie Marie” was one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar, when I was around thirteen years old. To be on stage with these cats many decades later, playing THAT song, really felt like a complete story arc. It was a magical night.
Added bonus: I snuck upstairs into the giant old Scottish Rite theater, dedicated as the Ernest Borgnine Theater because he was a member there and donated a bunch of money to restore the building. It’s a magnificent hundred-year-old theater room, with lots of ghosts and crazy vibes, an ancient lighting apparatus, and vaudeville curtains. Is it weird that I love the moments alone in weird-ass ancient places every bit as much as I love being in a big crowd playing music?
Special thanks to Christopher Burkhardt and Grey DeLisle for making the whole night possible! Happy New Year 2026, everybody! Let’s make it a good ’un.
See a more photos and videos of Deke’s stealth foray into the Ernest Borgnine Theater at Deke’s original Facebook post!
