Kedric Taylor, director of the Human Jukebox: His aunt says wedding bells need to ring soon.

Kedric Taylor, band director of the Human Jukebox at Southern University, picked Chipotle near LSU as the restaurant for his Baton Rouge Classic Lunch. He’s a health-conscious fellow who says he has to work not to go to Chipotle every day. For lunch, he ordered his usual — the chicken bowl with beans, red sauce, chicken and Monterey Jack cheese.

“As a band director, you have to eat healthy. Nutrition is very important to me,” he said. “I have to keep up with the kids.”

To stay in shape, he runs four miles every other day and lifts weights daily. Music is the driving force for Taylor, who has worked in Southern University’s band program since 2014 and has been the band director since 2018.

Highlights of his tenure directing the Human Jukebox include a trip to the Rose Parade, taking the band to Los Angeles to play at halftime for the L.A. Lakers, working with Lizzo and last year’s game against LSU, which included both bands playing together at Tiger Stadium. 

“When you see the band, it’s not like a light switch. We pour into the students. They are student musicians. This is an academic unit. They need the support,” he said. “We’re entertainers, but educators, too. We’ve got to have a good balance.”

He came to Southern as an undergrad, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Epeval Taylor, who wrote the Human Jukebox’s arrangement of the famous (or infamous in some circles) song “Talking out the Side of Your Neck” when he was a junior at Southern. 

“My parents told me in the eighth grade that I better pick up my brother’s trumpet when they saw a boy get his collarbone broken playing football,” Taylor said, adding that he’s grateful his family guided him toward the arts. “Music makes you feel good. By life being so hard, we need music. Being able to do that at a high level, it’s amazing. Music brings life to things.”

The 39-year-old eligible bachelor admits he’s dating but not married yet, despite what his mother and aunt have to say about the situation. 

“My auntie told me wedding bells better be on the horizon,” Taylor said, but these days he’s spending most of his time getting ready for the incoming class of 130 freshmen from at least 15 states who will join the Human Jukebox in early August. 

He’s still narrowing down the list of songs the band will perform this fall, with about 20 on the list at the moment, including the possibility of a tribute to Tina Turner.

The Mobile, Alabama, native says he gets most of his musical abilities from his mom, who is an excellent singer. His father builds airplane motors — and passed his technical and organizational skills on to his son who needs them as he manages the 300-person band and organization. 

A trumpet player by training, Taylor can now play all the instruments in the band and says he sings well enough and “can hold a tune and stay in the room.” He loves coming up with formations for the band.

“Sometimes, I dream about formations,” he said. “Nobody wants to come see Southern do what another band does.”

For Taylor, getting the formations and the music right comes down to practice. 

“We practice for perfection. We don’t practice for hours. We practice for results,” he said.

Speaking of formations, he says creating them is easier now than it used to be, thanks to technology.

To create the plans for formations, they use a software called Pyware.

“You can input formations and push play — and it creates the plan by 8-counts,” he said. “Then we use an app that allows us to send every individual student their role.”

He credits the legendary Isaac Greggs as a major influence in his life.

“Dr. Greggs used to say, ‘The tallest building in the world would tumble down if it’s not rooted on solid ground,'” Taylor said. “As it relates to music, if you don’t have a solid foundation — you’ve got to have the fundamentals.”

Even though music is one of the driving forces of his life and work, he says a small portion of his job actually comes down to music. Leading the Human Jukebox staff, which includes five paid members and a host of volunteers, and managing the financial/administrative side of the band takes up to 40% of his time. 

“It grew me up really fast — dotting your i’s and crossing our t’s is important,” Taylor said. 

Another nonmusical aspect of his work is the time he spends acting as a counselor to many of the student musicians.

He takes his responsibility to impact students’ lives seriously, particularly when it comes to those who are struggling or looking for hope.

“Nowadays, I see a lot of students struggling with mental health,” he said. “Letting them know they can make it no matter where they started — that there’s still time to be successful and it’s possible to do that through music.” 

He believes a great leader is someone who gets in the trenches with everyone — and recognizes the benefits of calling in reinforcements when needed.

Simply put, the band has its financial challenges — even getting the band from one place to another is expensive.

“For example, it cost $12,000 just to get the band and all of its equipment across Baton Rouge to perform at the LSU game in 2022,” Taylor said. “To get to Dallas, it cost $65,000. We can’t make all the games.”

Though the band has new uniforms on the way (set to arrive mid-season), he hopes the community will realize and support the Human Jukebox’s need for an improved band hall, which was built in 1984, and is no longer big enough for the size band it’s currently holding.

Taylor is hopeful the greater community who appreciate the Human Jukebox will step up to offer their support for improvements to the band’s campus home. 

“Especially with the weather conditions being so hot outside, we need a better band hall,” he said.

Despite the hurdles, Taylor is working to get everything ready for the upcoming season, which includes a contest mere weeks after they start practicing. Additionally, they’ll be playing for the Saints game Oct. 3. 

As the season approaches, Taylor is not looking for shortcuts. 

“Always take the long way. What you put in is what you get out,” he said. “Music helps you with anything. You have to be disciplined to be a musician.”