A Behind-the-Scenes Interview with Buddy Davis: Homemade Music

Our talented resident dinosaur sculptor and musician, Buddy Davis, and his wife Kay, have come out with a new music video DVD called Homemade Music. This DVD includes encouraging original songs, written and performed by Buddy Davis, solid biblical teaching, and, as an added treat, some of Buddy and Kay’s favorite recipes—including homemade noodles and squirrel stew!

On this delightful new DVD, you’ll hear songs about Noah’s Ark, trials and hard times, biblical creation, and even a special song Buddy wrote for Kay. You’ll also get to hear many of the intriguing personal stories and learn about the life experiences that inspired the rich songs that Buddy writes. This new DVD was filmed in the Davis’s 180-year-old cabin and in an old country church nearby.

We recently asked Buddy and Kay for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Homemade Music. You can watch the video for a short glimpse of this fabulous new product or read the full transcript of our interview with Buddy and Kay below to learn about Buddy’s heart for music ministry and about the passion that goes into each of the songs he writes. You’ll also be introduced to his lovely wife, Kay, and hear her thoughts on Buddy’s music and the filming of this new DVD.

Answers in Genesis: Please tell us a little about who you are and a little about your latest project.

Buddy Davis: Well, I’d like to tell you about our brand-new DVD that’s coming out, Homemade Music. We had a lot of fun doing that, didn’t we? We filmed that at our house. Oh, and by the way, my name’s Buddy Davis and this is my wife, Kay. She’s really the backbone of what I get to do. She’s the gal that handles all my bookings and puts everything all together, takes care of my PowerPoints and stuff. She’s my best critic when I’m writing my song to see if the song is any good or not. In fact, there’s one song that I was gonna do that was made number ten in the nation last year, and I wasn’t even gonna record it, but she says “you oughta record that song.” So I’m glad you advised me on that song, Kay.

AiG: Kay, which song was that?

Kay Davis: It was “Jesus is Alive,” and it went to number ten in the inspirational country . . . .

BD: Inspirational country charts, yeah. That’s a national chart. I was happy about that.

AiG: Why record this music video in your log cabin home?

BD: The film crew and myself, we wanted to do a program that just shows where Kay and I actually live. So that’s why we decided to film the music inside of our log cabin. I wrote a lot of these songs in that old cabin. And the cabin’s about 180 years old. It just has a nice warm feel for that type of music that I do. I don’t even know what kind of music I do. It’s of course gospel music, but it’s a cross between probably folk, Appalachian music, and a little bit of country and a little bit of bluegrass kind of piled in together. But we wanted to give that feeling of where we wrote the songs and let folks see how Kay and I actually live.

AiG: Kay, can you tell us a little bit about what the cabin is like when Buddy is in the middle of a workday recording music or writing music?

KD: The cabin when he’s writing—we have a music room in the back of the cabin and most times you’ll hear his guitar strumming, and he’s getting ideas, and he’ll write his ideas down on paper, and then he’ll just keep working with the song and working with the song. And then finally when he thinks he’s got it fine-tuned enough, then he’ll play it for me. And then after that, he goes over it and over it and over it just to get words right and things like that. I hear him often back there, back in the music room.

AiG: Buddy, how many instruments do you play?

BD: How many instruments do I play? I play about eight different instruments. So I play fiddle, very poorly. I play a mandolin a little bit better. I have fun telling people I play a lot of instruments; I don’t play any of them very good, but actually I just have a lot of fun. But we play about eight different instruments. Upright bass, of course guitar, harmonica, mountain dulcimer, and sometimes we use these instruments in our recordings. In fact, most of the times we use them in about all of our recordings.

AiG: Kay, what’s your favorite instrument to play?

KD: The radio. I do not play instruments at all. I’m not musical.

AiG: What we meant to ask was—what’s your favorite instrument that Buddy plays?

KD: My favorite instrument that Buddy plays is probably, probably the guitar. Cause that’s what he started out on and it’s just . . . .

BD: I’m more comfortable playing the guitar.

AiG: Tell us a little bit more about the song you wrote for Kay.

BD: All the songs that I write—well I say most of the songs that I write, it’s heartfelt. Things that’s really important to me. And Kay’s the most important—other than God, and Jesus Christ my Savior, Kay’s the most important part of my life. I wanted to write a song to let her know how much I really appreciate what all she means to me.

AiG: Kay, when and how did you find out about the song Buddy wrote for you in Homemade Music?

KD: I can hear him doing bits and pieces of songs when he’s writing in the cabin. And the song he wrote for me, I could hear him, just bits and pieces of it and when—usually when he gets it all together—then he’ll come and play it for me. So it was—it brought tears to my eyes the first time he sang it to me.

BD: Yeah, she had tears in her eyes. But, you know, a lot of people cry when they hear my music. They say, “Is he ever gonna quit?” I mean, no, no, she . . . (chuckles) it really touched her. I was glad.

AiG: Buddy, as you were writing these songs and recording the video, what was your prayer about how it would minister to others?

BD: Any of the videos I do, any of the music, I want God to get the glory first. And I think that all of us, no matter what we’re doing in ministry, whatever what we’re doing, whatever job we have, we should give it our best. Being Christians, I think God—we’re working for the King of Kings, He deserves the best of what we do. So I use the talents that the Lord has given me to the best of my ability when I’m writing, so that God will receive the glory and it will draw people closer to Him. I’m just glad that He lets me do it.

You can learn more about Homemade Music, order your copy of this delightful DVD, or see more music and resources from Buddy Davis in our bookstore.