Eric Rogers, Danny Rodemoyer

Mercer, Pennsylvania
Saturday, January 31, 2004

We were invited up to Mercer to do a story on a private skate park that came together out of the frustration of being hassled by the Mercer Police and certain property owners who didn't like the idea of people skateboarding on their property. If you haven't been to the town of Mercer, you should know that it is not unlike many small towns in Pennsylvania where it is a throwback to the old days when life was simple and most people were honest.

Having provided the hometown flavor of Mercer, which is the backdrop of this story, we can now move on to the story of how a few skaters and riders got together to build their own private indoor skatepark in a non-descript building fronting along an alley off of the town's central courthouse square. The central players of this story include Eric Rogers, 17, Danny Rodemoyer, 18, and Dan Thompson, 18, all from Mercer with the exception of Dan who moved up to Corry in Erie County because of Wal-Mart and the National Guard.

Quarter Bowl

On a bitterly cold winter's night we sat down to some pizza and began talking about the skatepark. While not exactly a "Field of Dreams" story, this skatepark represents a successful form of social protest, and is a real-life exhibition of ingenuity and determination. Starting with a vacant warehouse donated by a parent, these guys collected discarded wood from the local Carter Lumber and Danny utilizing his welding skills with the steel coping, and an injection of about $100 raised from a competition last spring, they were able to build a 4' wedge, a 4' mini-ramp with street spine, a 6' quarter pipe, and a 6' quarter bowl.

This is how you earn the combination to the park's lock.

Access to the skatepark is provided by knowing the combination to the lock on the door along the alley. The combination is only given to those who contribute to the construction and / or maintenance of the park, as well as chipping in for payment of the utility bills. On this cold night, heat was only provided by a propane-powered torpedo heater. I frequently had to heat the camera in order to make it operable as the temperature inside of this building could not have exceeded 5 degrees.

The best seat in the house is above the quarter-pipe.

Danny and Eric looking toward tomorrow

After Danny and Eric demonstrated the skatepark we retreated to a small honky-tonk on the square and took up a booth and began talking about not only boarding and riding, but music, as you see, Danny and Eric are musicians and have a band called "Truth Lies Within" (www.truthlieswithin.cjb.net). Danny is the lead vocalist and writes the words along with Brandon Mace who is the drummer. Eric plays bass guitar and Corey White plays the electric guitar. Danny's older brother has a well known band called Armed Battery (www.ArmedBattery.com). Each has been invited to come over to B-Cubed.

Danny and Eric heat their feet with their torpedo heater. Move five feet away, and it's back to 5 degrees.

After sitting down we began to talk before it got loud when the local band began to play. Here's how the conversation went.

B-Cubed: Why did you get into the sport?
Danny: I like to be different; don't like to follow trends, although BMX is now a trend.

B-Cubed: Does this mean that you will get out of BMX, now that it is a trend?
Danny: No

B-Cubed: Why Not?
Danny: It is something that I like to do, It's my foremost hobby, other than music.

B-Cubed: Describe your music.
Danny: It's positive. It's not like those dumb metal bands which talk about death and destruction.

B-Cubed: What is the message delivered by your music?
Danny: There are many. One is: be who you are; don't let others try to change you.

B-Cubed: Are you going to play at B-Cubed?
Danny: Sure, anytime.

B-Cubed: You write the lyrics, don't you?
Danny: Yes.

B-Cubed: What is the best song that you have written?
Danny: "Break This Wall"

B-Cubed: When did you write it?
Danny: Only about a month ago.

B-Cubed: What is the song about?
Danny: It's about all the stuff I try to hide from people.

B-Cubed: Is it about concealing your pain?
Danny: You could say that. I'm trying to show people who I am because most people don't know me.

B-Cubed: Why do you care about people knowing who you are?
Danny: Cause people often misjudge other people.

B-Cubed: So what? You can't control what people think or say about you. I'm confused a bit because you appear to be self-assured and confident about yourself. Is your inner-self troubling you?
Danny: Yes, at the moment it is. For now, writing music is a way of dealing with my problems.

B-Cubed: I respect that answer. You and your band must play B-Cubed soon. I want the folks at B-Cubed to hear your music and understand you through your music. And if they really want to understand you, they should come to Mercer and see what you have done here. Is there a relationship between music and riding?
Danny: Yea, the sound of music and even skating and riding relaxes me. I have no worries when I play music and when I ride. It all makes me happy.

B-Cubed: Before I go, would you like to recite the lyrics to your new song, "Break This Wall?"
Danny:

I've seen this all before
There's got to be something more for me to feel
Every time it's the same
Every time I hear your name
Something breaks inside of me no one can see
Is this real? What's going on?
The only way to express myself is though this f*n song
The only way to make this right is to stand up and fight
fight this battle that's driving me insane

Chorus:
Break this wall inside my mind
All the shit I try to hide
Never again will this be the same

Danny Rodemoyer -This BMXer is also a boarder.

Once again it's in my head, This will never fade
It will always linger in my mind, Tearing me apart inside
Have to break this, can't let this control my thoughts
And now you've lost it all

Chorus

I'll be laughing when this happens to you
When you thought you were on top of your game
In the end all you felt was shame

Maybe next time you'll think twice
you can't gamble with our emotions tonight"

~Danny Rodemoyer, 2003~