Max Bunyan

Kansas Journal
By Kathy Hanks - The Hutchinson News - khanks@hutchnews.com

DODGE CITY - While mourners dispersed in a cemetery, Max Bunyan was handing out CDs of his music.

It might have seemed like an odd place for such a gift. But this was where his audience, unfortunately, was gathered.

A funeral for yet another U.S. solider killed in Iraq breaks the veteran's heart, and he turns the pain into music.

"Songs that honor our soldiers, our fallen heroes and their families," is how Bunyan describes his brand of music.

"All of us in the community are grieving for them," he said. Empathizing with the families of soldiers, he blends together words and music hoping to offer solace.

"The anguish they must be going through, knowing their sons and daughters have gone off to war and are in harms way," he said.

The former executive director of Ford County's Santa Fe Trail Community Corrections, he retired several years ago to return to his first love: music. His gift of song began in the 1960s when he sang with a group called the Medallions during his days as a student at Dodge City High School.

Further evidence that he could carry a tune came when he served in the 7th Army Soldiers Chorus from 1964 to 1967. He sang in more than 700 performances across Europe.

"Gen. William Quinn thought it was important for soldiers and families to have the inspiration through military songs and fun songs," Bunyan said. "We were musical ambassadors for the European troops throughout the continent."

That's when he learned the power of song for those in the military. And it continues to be needed today, he says. In his basement recording studio, he has produced four CDs, all filled with his original music - songs like "Baghdad Lullaby," and "We Honor Your Name," which pays tribute to those who have given their lives.

On his Web site, www.maxgbunyanmusic.com, people can access several links to more than 50 of his original songs.

There are themes Bunyan tries to convey through song, such as "freedom really isn't free."

He said his inspiration comes from life - conversations with other veterans, newspaper articles and sadly, funerals of soldiers.

- The Hutchinson News

I really like this song, Max. It contrasts the smoothness of your voice to the harshness of the setting. Have you brought it into a jail? I believe it would be a consolation to the suffering souls there. To paraphrase the Bible in modern English, "Lord, when have we ever seen you begging for a dollar, shivering with a thin coat, or sitting on a jail cot wishing you had never been born?" "Let me tell you....whenever you have helped those needy ones, you have helped me." Bless your ministry, Max!"
Alexandra - Alexandra LaJoux, President and CEO, American Classic Recordings

Dear Max:
I've always said you're the Johnny Cash of Kansas, but now I'll say you are starting to remind me of Tennessee Ernie Ford. You've got a real combination of blues and country that makes you ultra American. Thanks for CARING ABOUT OUR VETERANS, and for being one.
"In the shadow of our fallen brothers we now stand feet tall....at the healing wall" wow...what a great line...and I love the way you wail it when you sing it.
Alexandra - Alexandra LaJoux, President and CEO, American Classic Recordings

Cowboy songs that touch your heart and raise your spirits. These songs bring you 'round the campfire to a kinder and gentler place.
- Sally Obrien

"FOLLOW YOUR HEART" From the first notes of this CD, I felt a blessed assurance: The great Johnny Cash lives on! Patriotic messages make this a particularly inspiring collection. - Alexandra LaJoux, President and CEO, American Classic Recordings

Max Bunyan looks like Burl Ives or a Santa Claus with his pearly white beard, rotund figure, and jolly, smiling face. But when this Dodge City hometown boy sings, he sounds like an angel.

Bunyan will share his songwriting and singing talents from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Carnegie Center for the Arts’ free Final Friday Art is Ageless concert.

Shortly after retiring in 2005 as executive director of Santa Fe Trail Community Corrections, Bunyan released his first CD, “Follow Your Heart.” Since then, he has written 400 songs in a variety of genres and hopes to complete his sixth CD, “Mercy and Grace,” by the end of the year.

“One of the biggest changes in my career is finding a freedom to be the musical me that God created me to be,” said Bunyan, who writes and performs folk, cowboy, gospel, smooth jazz, Jesus jazz, country, New American patriot love songs, novelty/fun songs and tribute songs “for the special people who have touched my life, like my wife, Claudia.”

Another of those "special people" is his 88-year-old mother, Maxine Beadle, a Good Samaritan Center resident who played “boogie-woogie” on the piano when Bunyan was growing up.

“I call her my business manager,” Bunyan said. “Mom gave me some good advice. She said, ‘Do lots of fun songs and love songs,’ so that’s what I’ve put together for my Carnegie concert that I’m calling ‘Love and Laughter… From My Heart.’”

Bunyan’s first memory of singing was “Sweet and Low, Winds of the Western Sea” in third grade at Sunnyside Elementary School.

“That was my musical awakening,” he said. “The lights came on, and I realized that I loved music. The notes resonated in my spirit.”

Bunyan has performed since then on KGNO radio programs, the TV show “Horizons of Faith” in Miami, Fla. and in more than 700 performances of the Seventh U.S. Army Soldiers Chorus in Europe.

He also has sung at the Kansas Wheat House in Cimarron, the Meade County Historical Society, Sawlogs & Strings summer concerts, Busters in Sun City and the Holiday Inn in Joplin, Mo.

“I’m especially proud of my song about Greensburg (from the CD “Here and Now”),” said Bunyan. “It went all the way to number two on the SoundClick music charts.”

Bunyan also has been invited to preach and sing at several churches: United Methodist at Mullinville for 80 women survivors of the Greensburg tornado; the Church of God in Ashland; Victory Life Fellowship and Christ the King Lutheran, both in Dodge City; and First Christian in Cimarron, where he ministered in music to the Christian Bikers Association.

“I dedicated my song, ‘Rolling Thunder,’ to Gary Mills, president of the Thunder on the Plains Christian Motorcycle Association Chapter from Ashland, and to all the Christian bikers who were there that Sunday,” he said.

“I wrote a song ‘Most of All’ for my musical friend, Barry Ward, who has moved to Colorado. One line goes, ‘I will miss my friends on the Kansas prairies most of all’ to the central point: ‘I must follow God’s call most of all.’”

Bunyan’s CDs “Follow Your Heart” and “Songs for Soldiers and People Who Love Them” are on Wal-Mart’s worldwide online music store.

His music also is distributed online by CD Baby to Apple iTunes and other outlets.

Locally, his CDs are available at Hastings, Briar & Hale Music, Trails West, Christian Book House and the chiropractic office of Dr. Scott Fischer.

“I write my songs from my experience,” Bunyan said. “My songs ‘The Dade County Jail (parts one and two)’ are about my experiences as an officer at the Dade County Jail in Miami from 1980 to 1992.

“Sam Ormes created and directed the ICTV inmate correctional TV network for 27 years, and it was in its early stages when I was there. Three years ago, I reconnected with Sam, and I’m proud to say they used my songs ‘Dade County Jail’ for their Bible Study theme song every Thursday.”

For more information about Bunyan, visit his Web site at www.Maxgbunyanmusic.com.
- Charlene Scott/Dodge City Daily Globe (Aug.27, 2008)

How does a man retire from a career working in jails and with convicted felons to a career of singing and praising God? Max Bunyan has done just that, and he's having the time of his life. Actually he started singing as a youngster in Dodge City so he's really just come full circle.

Max describes himself as a singer/songwriter specializing in mellow acoustic Gospel (Jesus Jazz, Contemporary Christian Cowboy, and Gospel Folk Songs). If that weren't enough, near the end of 2005, he started writing "Contemporary Songs for Today's soldier, Yesterday's Veterans, POW's, our Fallen Warriors, and their Families." (Try putting all of that on a business card.) As an Army Veteran, Max wants to honor the soldiers and to encourage them in their mission to preserve our freedom. He also plays guitar and piano.

He carried his musical interests with him through high school and college where he minored in music and sang in the chorus at Dodge City Community College. He later graduated from Pepperdine College in Los Angeles majoring in psychology.

His army experience (1964 to 1967) included traveling in Europe as a member of the United States Seventh Army Soldiers Chorus. The primary mission was to encourage US Military Personnel with a secondary mission to promote international relations through performances in the communities and concert halls of Europe. His duties in the Army included more than just singing, as they would sometimes pull KP and scrub pots and pans or patrol ammo dumps on cold winter nights.

After leaving the Army, Max spent time as a photographer, journalist, news director and radio announcer. He then entered the career of corrections.

I asked Max, "How do you go from a musical background to a career in corrections?" He said that he was working in a Bible bookstore in North Miami and had applied for several jobs, to which God closed the doors. With his education in psychology, he applied to the corrections department in Dade County Florida. Max said that it seemed as though God was throwing the doors open as he pursued this possibility.

He was accepted and completed the training at the Correctional Officer Academy in Florida. While he had some anxiety about the possible physical harm that he might suffer, he says that God simply spoke to him and reassured him that it was the right thing to do. He primarily worked as a Correctional Officer (the term Guard was being done away with) in the Dade County Jail.

He was in daily physical contact with all sorts of prisoners with approximately 130,000 persons going through the system on an annual basis. He kept musical interests active by singing at events and coffeehouses while in Florida.

Max carried his Christian faith high while working in the jail. In fact, he was told to stop his Christian activities while working in the jail. His way around this was to serve as a security officer at Chapel services in the jail.

Max returned to Dodge City in June of 1992 for a family reunion. He reflected how peaceful it seemed when he stepped into the front yard where it was safe for his kids to play.

After returning to Florida, and experiencing the wrath of Hurricane Andrew, Max was ready to return to Dodge City by October of that year. He spent a week in Dodge City trying to gain employment. He had grown to enjoy the correctional career and he wanted to join Santa Fe Trail Community Corrections. Max says, "I was actually praying to God that something would open up when the phone rang with an offer from Santa Fe Trail Community Corrections." Max and his wife Claudia and their three children wasted no time returning to Dodge City.

Max returned to performing music in 2004, inspired by his experience at The Kansas Cowboy Symposium in Dodge City. His first CD, Follow Your Heart, features twenty original songs. Right now he's focusing his writing on Contemporary Songs for Today's soldier, Yesterday's Veterans, POW's, our Fallen Warriors and their Families. All of his songs and the CD are available through his website located at www.Maxgbunyanmusic.com

With today's technology, people can download individual songs or the entire album. Max says that it is very rewarding when sees downloads from around the nation and around the world.

Of course he loves to perform live for churches, civic groups, veterans groups, festivals, count fairs, reunions or almost any reason that people get together. In fact, he will sing at the drop of a hat. He recently met about 20 people gathered at the Dodge House, so he gave them a short impromptu concert.

This man loves his music, and so will you. Whether you want mellow acoustic Gospel, Jesus Jazz, Contemporary Christian Cowboy, Gospel Folk Songs or patriotic music, he's available. He can be reached through his website or his home phone (620) 225-2063. - Stan Wilson/Southwest Kansas Faith & Family Newspaper

Max Bunyan picked Thursday (6-29-2006) to perform at Wright Park for the free summer concert series, because it was the date closest to the Fourth of July.

"I see my concert as a prelude to the fourth of July celebrations that'll be happening locally," Bunyan said.

This is the third year for the series which highlights local musicians every Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The concerts are sponsored by the Dodge City Parks and Recreation and the Dodge City Daily Globe.

Bunyan will be performing five songs off of his first CD, "Follow Your Heart" and five songs from his second CD, "Songs For Soldiers and People Who Love Them."

"The first CD is fancy," Bunyan said.
"The second one is no frills, but great music."

Two songs that he will be performing are "Baghdad Lullaby" and "We Honor Your Name By Candlelight."

Bunyan describes "Baghdad Lullaby" as the plaintive heart cry of a child whose father is in the military in Iraq.

He wrote "We Honor Your Name By Candlelight" in honor of the 2,500 soldiers who have lost their lives in the war. "It's a song to honor every one of our soldiers who have given their life for our freedom," Bunyan said.

He hopes people from his concerts feeling proud of America's soldiers.

"I hope everyone, whatever their their opinions of the war may be, just love our soldiers and support them." Bunyan said, "I sell a lot of these CDs to families. They're just on the edge of tears when they hear it."

Bunyan sang throughout grade school, middle school, and high school. He attended Dodge City Community College, where he sang in the chorus, and Pepperdine College where he majored in psychology and minored in music.

Bunyan is also a U.S. Army Veteran and sang in over 700 performances with the U.S. 7th Army Soldiers' Chorus in Europe.

Bunyan has two goals for his career. To Play for the president and for the troops.

"I want them to know how much we appreciate each one of them," Bunyan said. "I believe that today's soldiers and their families are our real heroes from every home town in America."

Bunyan will have his CDs available to buy at Wright Park tomorrow. They are also on sale at numerous locations locally, including Casey's Cowtown, Trails West, Hastings, and Brier and Hale.

His music is now being played in Germany, Bolivia, Cape Town, South Africa, Ireland, and Portugal.

Bunyan went to doing music full time two years ago, after his experience with the Kansas Cowboy Symposium in Dodge City. He said he has had several re-awakenings since.

"I don't have to be a cowboy because I've lived in Dodge City, worked at Boot Hill, or because I've written good cowboy songs. That frees me up to do more thins."

Bunyan has a studio in his house, where he mixes, produces, sings, and plays instruments. He said that he writes so many songs that going to another studio would be too expensive.

"I experiment a lot with the music. I'll try it in different genres," said Bunyan. "And I'll pull out different instrumentations from my keyboard and my soundbank."

Bunyan discovered jazz music when he left community college to go to Pepperdine.

"My first jazz memory was hearing 'Take Five' by Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond," Bunyan said.

His other musical influences include folk and gospel singers.

"I love singing here in Dodge City because this is my hometown. I love being able to share with friends and family that way," Bunyan said.

For more information about Bunyan, visit his Web site at www.maxgbunyanmusic.com - Monica Springer/Dodge City Daily Globe

Dodge City Daily Globe Front Page Story
Mon, Jan. 31 2005
Web-posted Jan. 31, 12:10: PM
Follow your heart
Bunyan writes, sings mellow music for a high stress world
By Charlene Scott
Dodge City Daily Globe



Max Bunyan, former executive director of Santa Fe Trail Community Corrections in Dodge City, has retired to return to his first love: music. A singer-songwriter who plays guitar and piano, Bunyan released his first CD,"Follow Your Heart," this month.
Charlene Scott
Max Bunyan sang at his own retirement party three weeks ago, which is apropos because singing is the reason he retired in the first place.
Bunyan has had two careers: one in music, the other in community corrections.

The latter occupied his talents in Dodge City for the past 12 years, as he worked first as an officer and then as executive director of Sante Fe Trail Community Corrections, a department of Ford County.

Now Bunyan is returning to his first love: music.

Bunyan released his first CD titled"Follow Your Heart"this month. The CD has an acoustic gospel sound, rich in a variety of jazz/contemporary cowboy, novelty, patriotic and love songs(available at Hastings or on line at www.cdfreedom.com or at www.Maxgbunyanmusic.com).

The 20 songs were long in coming. You might say they have been resonating in his mind and heart all his life. Bunyan has written more than 150 songs drawn from his travels in America and Europe and his life in Dodge City.

"I was born in Dodge City, and I love my hometown," he said."My first musical memory was in Josephine Lighter's third grade class at Sunnyside grade school. We sang'Sweet and Low Winds of the Western Sea.'That's when I really felt a love for music."

That feeling has stayed with Bunyan his entire life.

"My mother, Maxine Beadle, played piano and continues to be a real encouragement in my music today, and my stepfather, Frank, has been my real dad and hero all my life," he said.

"I also remember a musical production,'Pied Piper,'while I was at Sunnyside Elementary. I was in the chorus in school, and in high school, Madge Elliott was my music teacher. I sang a solo,'Deep River,'at the state or regional music festival."

He also sang a solo from"Carmen" in the Dodge City High School floorshow, which he remembers as"a neat musical night." In high school, he sang with four friends called the"Medallions,"who performed for school dances and around town.

"My favorite musical experience at that time was gathering Saturday afternoons or Sunday evenings at a building next to the Dodge City Daily Globe, where KGNO Radio used to be. There was a long stairwell that had a great echo chamber, and we rehearsed there. Those were fun moments."

Bunyan attended Dodge City Community College, majoring in psychology and minoring in music with Vernon Zollars, long-time head of the music department. Bunyan still was hanging on to his first love.

"I was president of the college chorus in my sophomore year, and my friend Jim Sherer, now city commissioner, was vice president," he said."We used to sing together as part of the madrigals group.

"Then I had a group of six guys from other states called the'Statens'who did rhythm and blues and doo-wop songs of the sixties. Folk singing was becoming popular, so Dave Boyle P we still sing together once in a while -- and Frank Ricciardi and I sang Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary songs."

That period of his life ended for Bunyan when he left Dodge City to attend Pepperdine College in Los Angeles (now a university), where he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in psychology. He continued to sing, however, in college musical ensembles, plus his own folk singing trio and jazz trio.

"After graduation, I worked for a savings and loan, then enlisted in the Army, where I served from 1964 to 1967," he said."I sang in more than 700 performances withthe Seventh U.S. Army Soldiers Chorusbased near Stuttgart, Germany and later in Heidleberg, Germany.

"Our principal mission was to provide entertainment for our soldiers, and our second mission was to the Europeans," he explained."Wherever we sang, our motto always was'Friendship through Music.'"

But Bunyan had to rake a lot of leaves before he joined the chorus.

"When I finished basic and advanced training, I was stationed at Boeblingen in Germany," he explained."Every day, I would stand in line to pick up my rake. One particular day, Tommy Gannon, who played piano at the Playboy Club in Miami, Florida, walked by and asked if any of us could play music or sing. I was jumping up and down."

Gannon told the eager Bunyan where to go to audition, and the young soldier parlayed his voice that ranged"between tenor and high baritone" into a new and more exciting job with the Seventh U.S. Army Soldiers Chorus.

"There were 40 or 42 of us," he said."We wore red blazers and tuxedo trousers. We performed all over Europe for three years, singing in the military bases and at the palace of Versailles and in the beautiful concert halls of Europe.

"Europeans loved the Broadway show tunes, American spirituals, and of course, they liked folk singing. We sang on the German version of the Tonight Show, hosted by Peter Frankenfeld. I still meet people who remember him. We also recorded two albums and a single."

The chorus sang in an international music festival at Llangollen, Wales that attracted more than 180,000 people.

"The hills literally were'alive with the sound of music,'" Bunyan said."It was a massive, magnificent gathering."

Another milestone for the group and for Bunyan was winning an international chorale competition in Holland that drew singers from 75 nations around the world.

"Out of the 75 other countries, we won!" Bunyan recalled with as much enthusiasm as he probably felt at the time."It was an incredible moment."

Bunyan met his wife, Claudia, during his years in Europe. Hailing from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, she had just graduated from college and was on her summer vacation with a friend. She corresponded with Bunyan for a year; then they married in Ohio.

"She's a gift God gave me," he said of Claudia."We celebrated our 37th anniversary last September, and we have three children P a daughter and two sons. Our daughter gave us our first grandchild, a boy, Cory, three months ago."

After leaving the Armed Services, Bunyan turned his love for music into broadcasting as a radio announcer.

"Bob Harper was a legendary announcer for KGNO, and his family lived next door to us in Dodge City. He and I had corresponded during my Army days, and I was inspired to go into radio. So I went to Midwest Broadcasting School in Chicago."

His first radio job was in Coshocton, Ohio as a deejay and news director. Later, he migrated to KWBG in Boone, Iowa, where he performed the same duties.

"We moved to Florida after that," he said."Initially, we were in Fort Lauderdale, where I sang in clubs with a friend from the Army. Then we went on to Miami, where I worked in parole and probation for the state and later in the metro Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department for more than 12 years."

After Hurricane Andrew ripped across south Florida, Bunyan and his wife decided to move back to Kansas"where the trees and the buildings are pointed in the right direction," he said with a laugh.

"On the day we arrived home in November of'92, Dodge City had 15 inches of snow, and that winter we had 62 or 65 inches. We went from one extreme to the other.

"Prior to actually moving to Dodge City, I came for a week of job interviews; then it was time to return to Florida," he added."I prayed,'God, I've been talking to a lot of people this week, and I would really like to work for Santa Fe Trail Community Corrections.'While I was praying, the phone rang and the corrections director said,'We would like you to come to work for us.'"

Bunyan said that during his time as director he had"a wonderful team" at the corrections office, with Bill Riebel, Patrick Klecker, Joan Addison and his wife, who also continues as an employee. He had planned to retire at the age of 65 and eight months, but two and a half years ago, he began to think differently.

"I had heard of Willie Nelson and was watching Arts and Entertainment when I heard him sing for the first time," he explained.

"He had such a beautiful voice, and I felt God stir my heart. I was playing the piano and guitar for my church, First Assembly of God, but I thought,'when I retire, I want to start doing the music again.'Last summer, I felt the Lord intensify that desire again."

Bunyan was inspired in June by the Kansas Cowboy Symposium in Dodge City, a three-day event that drew musicians from all over the country. He called the symposium"a defining musical experience in my life," and wrote his fourth song on his CD,"Love Song: the Kansas Cowboy Symposium," in honor of the event.

"I had been out of the musical loop for a while, so I came to the symposium searching and looking for my special musical niche," he said."I called the song a'love song'because I loved being there and I loved those musicians, singers and songwriters. They were so professional and really put their hearts into their music."

Bunyan dedicated his song to the symposium's coordinator Victoria Ward, wife of singer-songwriter Barry Ward, to Kim Goodnight, Ford County Commissioner, and to Ralph Rupp, whom he called"the leadership team of the symposium."

In October, Bunyan was further encouraged when a repairman visiting his office heard his new CD demo playing and asked,"Who is that singer?"

"I took a deep breath and said,'That's me,'" Bunyan recalled."The repairman said,'Man, you are in the wrong business! You really sound professional.'That was another real defining moment for me. I knew God was telling me to accelerate the music instead of waiting two and a half more years down the road."

Bunyan struggled with the decision of whether to take early retirement, remembering that"I wrestled with it; it was an awful burden."

"I've always loved serving my community, but I didn't want to stay in community corrections for the next 6,000 hours of my life. Just as God had answered my prayers in bringing me to Ford County government, I believed God was answering my prayers now and leading me out."

This was further confirmed for Bunyan when he was invited to hear his cousin's missionary son speak at Grace Community Church.

"I arrived late for the Bible Study class, but when I walked through the door, I heard the teacher reading God's word,'I know the plans I have for you: plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'I physically felt the force of the Holy Spirit.

"I had come to church that morning looking for my cousin and her family, but God was looking for me. Those words were Heaven sent for me. That was such a powerful confirmation that I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do. Recently, Rev. Kirk Larsen told me,'God always knows how to give us what we need and how to get it to us when we need it.'"

Bunyan gave his notice and on Jan. 7 sang at his retirement reception. Now he's busy promoting his new CD and writing 20 songs for his next CD.

"KGNO Radio did a wonderful in-depth interview and played several of my musical tracks on Keith Tallent's Live and Local Morning Show," he said."KDCC-AM Radio also played four of my songs, and what a thrill it was to hear them. Someone who heard my'Ballad of Old Dodge City'said they thought it should be the official theme song for Dodge City."

A true romantic, Bunyan's favorite song on his new CD is the one he penned for his wife,"I'm in Love with You."

One verse reads:"I could be the greatest singer since Garth Brooks, write songs like Willie Nelson or have Alan Jackson's looks, but I'm in love with you, and life doesn't get any better than that."


- Charlene Scott/Dodge City Daily Globe

Bunyan to play at Wright Park tonight (June 16, 2005)

By Mark Vierthaler Dodge City Daily Globe

Max Bunyan of Dodge City plays guitar in this file photo. Bunyan began his music career last year and has since appeared in more than 80 performances. He will appear tonight as part of the Summer Concert Series in Wright Park. Admission is free. Bunyan begins the show at 7 p.m. with a piano performance. Courtesy Photo

At 7:30 tomorrow night, it will be revealed what the early Beatles, a doo-wop group, Ray Charles, Elvis, Simon and Garfunkel and Dixieland all have in common. Namely: Max Bunyan has integrated their styles into a remixed version of"Home On the Range."

Bunyan will continue as number three in the Summer Concert Series in Wright Park tonight. Since jazz and alternative fans have had their time in the limelight, cowboy gospel steps up to the plate.

"I primarily do gospel," says Bunyan. He wears an American flag western shirt. A cowboy hat sits on his head, white hair poking out from underneath. He leans forward in his chair while talking.

"Not black-urban gospel," he laughs."Maybe white-acoustic gospel." Bunyan says his music comes in various flavors. While at the keyboard he plays what he calls"Jesus jazz." A mix of jazz and inspirational lyrics.

The keyboard isn't his only means of delivering his message."The guitar is my primary instrument," he says."I use the keyboard while I'm recording." In his living room, an acoustic-electric guitar sits on a stand. Next to it is a keyboard.

Bunyan composes his own music and lyrics. He likes to describe his work at contemporary Christian gospel."My songs touch on Jesus," he says.He's not exclusively gospel however. Some of his songs have a distinctly local flavor to them. So local, that some of his songs are even inspired by local figures.

"This is my hometown," says Bunyan."I love Dodge City and the people in it. I like to write songs about people here in Dodge City."

One song, titled"Ride Cowboy Ride" was written for Dr. RC Trotter. Bunyan said he witnessed a speech by Trotter on the merits of the Dodge City rodeo."He gave a stirring, rousing presentation about Dodge City Days and the rodeo," he says."He talked about why our rodeo here is important in the whole chain of events."
- Mark Vierthaler/Dodge City Daily Globe