Skate World to host organists from around the country in honor of local legend

LORAIN — For a generation of roller skaters, there's nothing like skating to live organ music — and Rich Broglio was one of the best, if you ask those at Lorain's Skate World. Broglio, retired since 1996, spent 35 years as the organist for Brookpark Skateland. But before that, he cut his teeth at the now defunct Lorain Arena. In his honor, Skate World is hosting several organists from around the country in "A Rolling Tribute to Rich Broglio," 6 to 10 p.m. Aug. 25. Tickets are $10 for skaters, $5 for spectators. Tickets for children 12 and younger are $5. "We're not just celebrating his career," rink owner Brad Sprague said. "We're celebrating him as an icon of a generation of people who this was a part of their culture." The evening will feature performances by Johnny Sharp and Bobby Freeman, of Arizona, Marty Dumic, of Pennsylvania, and Skate World house organist Mike Clemens. Sprague said he's sent pre-order tickets as far out to Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida. 'Everyone heard the tapes and walked out' Broglio first learned to play accordion before switching to the organ — and spent much of his time playing churches before moving to skating rinks. Growing up in Lorain, he laughs, remembering sneaking into where the organ was at St. Peter Church and getting caught by the pastor. "I'd be playing the organ, pull all the stops out, play it as loud (as I could) and I looked in the mirror and the pastor's standing there — all I saw was his arms folded. I stopped playing it and turned around and he goes 'Out!' I got out of there. And then I used to sneak back up there when he wasn't home." Shortly after taking a full-time organist position at Lorain Arena he was offered the job at Brookpark Skateland — considered one of the premiere rinks in the region. He said the manager came to him after they opened the rink with just recordings and "everyone heard the tapes and walked out." "It was a job to take a popular song and put it into skating to play it live with the organ," he said. "it was hard at the time, but you had to do something to keep the crowd coming — especially the younger kids." 'Generational culture' While next Sunday is all about Broglio, the evening probably wouldn't have happened without a tragedy a year prior. In 2018, Brookpark Skateland burned down, leaving droves of dedicated skaters without a home rink — and organist Mike Clemens without a job. Many, including Clemens, started coming to Lorain Skate World. "Many of the people that are coming for Rich and some of the people that are coming are coming just because they want to see their Brookpark friends," Sprague said. "Rich has this generational culture that Mike has carried on with organ music, but it also has to do with building. Even here in Lorain ... there's many people here in Lorain that would say, 'I remember Skate World, it's part of my childhood, it was part of growing up.' and the same thing goes for Brookpark." Clemens said he began taking organ lessons as a teenager after hearing Broglio play at the Brookpark rink. "I would say Rich defined the organ music style for skating in this region and he inspired myself, Johnny Sharp and Bobby Freeman, which are the other two organists coming in," Clemens said. "If it wasn't for Rich, the three of us wouldn't be playing today because his style of music is what inspired us to pursue music." From there, his career also started in Lorain, before drifting east until the fire in 2018. Today, he — like Broglio did years prior — remixes more modern, popular songs on the organ. Skater Tom Bishop points out that everyone know's Pink Floyd's "The Wall," even when played on organ by Clemens. He began skating in the '80s in Brookpark, but gave it up for decades before coming back at his doctor's behest to find an activity he could stick to. "Rich had such a very high energy when he played, he was keeping up with popular music and converting it to skate-able music and he just did such an incredible job with how he did that and plus playing classic skating songs but he really just very lively, upbeat, very inspiring," he said. He added, "Families grew up doing this. Husbands met their wives, grandparents brought their grandkids in. It's really an old-fashioned, broad family activity that's relatively inexpensive when you look at all of the other things that it competes with out there." For more information on the event, contact Clemens at mike@lorainskateworld.com. Contact Carissa Woytach at 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.