WORSHIP Without his sight, drummer praises God to his own beat
Alex doesn't see himself as an inspiration, despite his overcoming attitude.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR RELIGION EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Alex Budrevich is a drummer. But he's not playing this Christmas. And he doesn't try to be an inspiration.
Budrevich, 38, says what he finds exciting is drawing people to his new church, Emmanuel Community Church, 6512 Kirk Road, Canfield, and its new praise band.
Contemporary Christian music has become part of many churches in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. What's different about this band and drummer is that Budrevich is blind.
He's happy that more people seem to keep coming to hear the group play, he says.
"It's new, modern music," Budrevich said. "Not your standard 1802 hymns."
That's fine with Budrevich, who says, "I'm a rocker at heart."
The Youngstown native and resident marches to his own beat. He roots for Michigan State instead of Ohio State, explaining, "I'm not a geographical fan."
His interest in music began when he started studying accordion when he was about 5. By age 8, he was playing the drums and he learned to read music. It's a family and church thing: His parents like music, and his godfather is polka player Bob Turcola.
Life challenges
Budrevich is a good drummer and singer. He played with commercial bands and plays now when a band is temporarily missing its drummer. He was recently called on Wednesday, rehearsed on Thursday and performed on Friday.
One drawback he has in performing now comes when he occasionally plays drums set up for a person of a different height or size.
"I take a swing and a miss, and I look like an idiot," he said with a laugh.
Budrevich also grew up in church, first attending a Russian Orthodox church.
"I went on Sunday because my Dad told me to go," he said.
Later he went to several different churches, including Victory Assembly of God and Youngstown Baptist Church.
Budrevich's life changed on Oct. 8, 1987, when his head was caught in a forklift, severing his optic nerve. He spent nine days in intensive care at St. Elizabeth Medical Center and went home the day before Thanksgiving.
Now he jokes about how he woke up in the hospital and was more concerned about his clothes and hair that were cut off by doctors than about his injuries.
"It's all what you make of it," he said. "I've always been a goof," he says with another laugh.
He said he knows God could heal him in an instant.
"If not, I'll have to deal with it medically," Budrevich said. He favors cloning to the extent it could produce new organs, or in his case, nerves, to help people.
Inspiration
Budrevich says people, including a young boy who was to undergo an eye operation, keep telling him he's an inspiration.
"I don't really want to hear that," Budrevich said. "I just want to do what I do."
Right now, that's playing with the band. If people find he's an inspiration or can get something from his story, he said, "that's cool."
He credits his parents, Alex and Ida, as well as family and friends with helping him. In dark times, he listens to Christian music.
But he says what keeps him going is his daughter, Haley, 9.
He helps his daughter get off to school and helps her with her homework.
He recently enrolled her in Youngstown Christian Academy, which requires that students attend church. About that time he was contacted about being in Emmanuel's new band. Everything just came together, he says.
Praise band
A proposed name for the band is, "As Is," as in flaws and all.
The other band members are guitarists Mike Myhal and Chris Pruitt; bassist Nick Carino; and Ron Craig, Emmanuel's pastor and the group's keyboardist. The band plays at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays at the main service.
Craig said that Budrevich doesn't see himself as an inspiration, despite his overcoming attitude.
While others might have become bitter after such a loss, "With him, it seems no big deal," Craig said.
The pastor added that what is remarkable about Budrevich's playing is that he can't see signals when he is playing and must now memorize every song.
The praise band stopped because of the production this weekend of the church's holiday musical, "Sounds Like Christmas," at 7:30 p.m. today and Sunday. But the band will soon resume playing.
Said Budrevich, "You keep the faith."
wilkinson@vindy.com