Kyle Dine

“FOOD ALLERGIES ROCK!”

TORONTO, ON (October 25, 2010) Canadian performer and educator Kyle Dine is the world’s first “Allergy Musician.” Dine’s new CD, “Food Allergies Rock!,” contains 14 sing-along songs that put a positive spin on food allergies. The album will be released Wednesday, October 27th, with the U.S. launch being held at a food-allergy-friendly Halloween party in the New York City metro area on Sunday, October 31.

“Food Allergies Rock!” is the follow-up to Dine’s breakthrough CD, “You Must Be Nuts!,” which stayed near the top of the Galaxie children’s radio charts for months in 2008. Since releasing his first album, Dine has played at hundreds of schools across Canada and the U.S. This past May, his performance in Texas was broadcast to 25,000 students across the state in a program which featured fellow allergy advocate and country music star Trace Adkins.

Having managed his own food allergies for over two decades, Dine is a firm believer that a positive outlook drastically reduces the risk of having an allergic reaction. “The diagnosis of life-threatening food allergies can be quite daunting for a family, but the key is to understand the facts about staying safe and to empower the child to manage his or her own allergies.” Through songs like “My Epineph-Friend” and “Able to Read a Label,” Dine’s music instills this confidence in a fun and engaging way.

“When children hear that having allergies is more common than they think, they feel self-assured and are less likely to engage in risk-taking behavior,” says Dine. This attitude is evident in “I’ve Got Allergies Under Control,“ a cheerful, fiddle-laced stomp-along, where Dine sings: “So there’s a few things I can’t eat, no road’s too tough for these two feet.” The empowerment theme is even prominent on the CD cover, which features a cartoon cast of kids dressed as what they want to be when they grow up. It’s only when you look closely you notice they’re toting auto-injector pouches and wearing medical I.D. bracelets.

“Food Allergies Rock!” features special guest performances from several prominent children’s musicians, including Mikel Gehl and Lisa Mathews of the Grammy-nominated band Milkshake. "My own son has several food allergies, and to hear Kyle rock out and sing with great specificity, humor and friendliness is a real comfort to our family," says Gehl.

With its music, message and artwork, Kyle Dine’s “Food Allergies Rock!” is more than just a CD—it’s proof that food allergies are manageable and can’t stop children from achieving their dreams. On his last CD, Dine sang about “Epi-Man,” a superhero who would swoop in to save the day. But to allergic fans everywhere, the real superhero isn’t a fictional character, it’s Dine himself.

“Food Allergies Rock! is a great holiday gift for any allergic child. It sells for $15.00 at www.anaphylaxis.ca, www.foodallergy.org, or www.kyledine.com.
- Kyle Dine

“FOOD ALLERGIES ROCK!”

TORONTO, ON (October 25, 2010) Canadian performer and educator Kyle Dine is the world’s first “Allergy Musician.” Dine’s new CD, “Food Allergies Rock!,” contains 14 sing-along songs that put a positive spin on food allergies. The album will be released Wednesday, October 27th, with the U.S. launch being held at a food-allergy-friendly Halloween party in the New York City metro area on Sunday, October 31.

“Food Allergies Rock!” is the follow-up to Dine’s breakthrough CD, “You Must Be Nuts!,” which stayed near the top of the Galaxie children’s radio charts for months in 2008. Since releasing his first album, Dine has played at hundreds of schools across Canada and the U.S. This past May, his performance in Texas was broadcast to 25,000 students across the state in a program which featured fellow allergy advocate and country music star Trace Adkins.

Having managed his own food allergies for over two decades, Dine is a firm believer that a positive outlook drastically reduces the risk of having an allergic reaction. “The diagnosis of life-threatening food allergies can be quite daunting for a family, but the key is to understand the facts about staying safe and to empower the child to manage his or her own allergies.” Through songs like “My Epineph-Friend” and “Able to Read a Label,” Dine’s music instills this confidence in a fun and engaging way.

“When children hear that having allergies is more common than they think, they feel self-assured and are less likely to engage in risk-taking behavior,” says Dine. This attitude is evident in “I’ve Got Allergies Under Control,“ a cheerful, fiddle-laced stomp-along, where Dine sings: “So there’s a few things I can’t eat, no road’s too tough for these two feet.” The empowerment theme is even prominent on the CD cover, which features a cartoon cast of kids dressed as what they want to be when they grow up. It’s only when you look closely you notice they’re toting auto-injector pouches and wearing medical I.D. bracelets.

“Food Allergies Rock!” features special guest performances from several prominent children’s musicians, including Mikel Gehl and Lisa Mathews of the Grammy-nominated band Milkshake. "My own son has several food allergies, and to hear Kyle rock out and sing with great specificity, humor and friendliness is a real comfort to our family," says Gehl.

With its music, message and artwork, Kyle Dine’s “Food Allergies Rock!” is more than just a CD—it’s proof that food allergies are manageable and can’t stop children from achieving their dreams. On his last CD, Dine sang about “Epi-Man,” a superhero who would swoop in to save the day. But to allergic fans everywhere, the real superhero isn’t a fictional character, it’s Dine himself.

“Food Allergies Rock! is a great holiday gift for any allergic child. It sells for $15.00 at www.anaphylaxis.ca, www.foodallergy.org, or www.kyledine.com.
- Kyle Dine

Spotlight: The Allergy Ministrel
With songs like “Smellephant the Allergic Elephant,” the kids think Kyle Dine rocks.

He has been strumming a guitar since he was 10. Now at the age of 23, Kyle Dine has played many a coffee shop and open mike night in his hometown of Kingston, Ontario.

But along the way, it seems that Dine, who is at risk of anaphylaxis to tree nuts and peanuts and has a slew of lesser allergies, has developed something else: an ear for kid-friendly allergy music. He’s honing his chops as the troubadour for a generation of reactive youngsters with songs such as “That a Peanut” and “Tingle on my Tongue.” One song even features a sneeze solo.

Allergic Living’s Claire Gagné spoke to Dine as he awaited the release of his first CD called, what else – “You Must be Nuts.”

What got you started on writing music for allergic kids?

I have a business, AllergyTranslation.com, and while doing research for it I realized that there are a lot of great resources out there for kids. But there’s nothing uplifting. So I wanted to make a CD that would ingrain really important messages [e.g. gaining allergy confidence, reading ingredients carefully], and still be fun.

What will kids enjoy about your music?

The characters. There are some neat ones: Smellephant the Allergic Elephant, and two superheroes: Epi-Man, and this guy named Dale Evan, who’s going to save the world from food allergies. There are also a lot of instruments that are going to make the kids clap their hands, and get up and dance.

Do you have a favourite song on the CD?

The one that I really like is “Smellephant the Allergic Elephant” because it’s universal to all children with or without food allergies. It’s a song about recognizing when food gives your body a negative reaction, and how you must be safe and stop eating it, even if it’s your favourite food – i.e. elephants and peanuts.

You’ve performed for a few anaphylaxis support group events. Who else has heard your songs?

I’ve been playing at schools here in Kingston. But it’s interesting to perform for a support group, where everybody has anaphylaxis or allergies, compared to a classroom, where you only have two or three allergic kids.

I changed the message a little bit to make it suitable for everyone. The kids without allergies were almost wishing that they had allergies. They’re really into the songs, dancing and having fun. I play a 45-minute set, and then there’s 45 minutes of questions. Everybody wants to learn more.

What kinds of questions do the kids ask you?

Sometimes they just want to share their story about their dad, who had a reaction to milk. They’ll ask what you should do if you find an EpiPen in the schoolyard.

And then there’s just some young kid extreme questions, like what do you do if someone stabs you in the back with an EpiPen. It’s quite a range, but they are all great questions.

First published in Allergic Living magazine’s Summer 2007 issue.
To order that issue or to subscribe, click here.



From "Smellephant the Allergic Elephant”

There once was an elephant
Whose name was Smellephant
Whose trunk was always stuffed up.
He ate so many peanuts
That he figured that one got stuck

He hoped it’s not an allergy
So asked a good old pal to see
If anything was stuck in that trunk,
But everybody knows that ol’ Smellephant
is allergic to nuts.



You can order “You Must be Nuts” from Dine’s website at www.kyledine.com. For more info on Dine’s allergy translation service, which offers cards that explain your allergies in one of 22 languages, visit www.allergytranslation.com

- Allergic Living Magazine

Spotlight: The Allergy Ministrel
With songs like “Smellephant the Allergic Elephant,” the kids think Kyle Dine rocks.

He has been strumming a guitar since he was 10. Now at the age of 23, Kyle Dine has played many a coffee shop and open mike night in his hometown of Kingston, Ontario.

But along the way, it seems that Dine, who is at risk of anaphylaxis to tree nuts and peanuts and has a slew of lesser allergies, has developed something else: an ear for kid-friendly allergy music. He’s honing his chops as the troubadour for a generation of reactive youngsters with songs such as “That a Peanut” and “Tingle on my Tongue.” One song even features a sneeze solo.

Allergic Living’s Claire Gagné spoke to Dine as he awaited the release of his first CD called, what else – “You Must be Nuts.”

What got you started on writing music for allergic kids?

I have a business, AllergyTranslation.com, and while doing research for it I realized that there are a lot of great resources out there for kids. But there’s nothing uplifting. So I wanted to make a CD that would ingrain really important messages [e.g. gaining allergy confidence, reading ingredients carefully], and still be fun.

What will kids enjoy about your music?

The characters. There are some neat ones: Smellephant the Allergic Elephant, and two superheroes: Epi-Man, and this guy named Dale Evan, who’s going to save the world from food allergies. There are also a lot of instruments that are going to make the kids clap their hands, and get up and dance.

Do you have a favourite song on the CD?

The one that I really like is “Smellephant the Allergic Elephant” because it’s universal to all children with or without food allergies. It’s a song about recognizing when food gives your body a negative reaction, and how you must be safe and stop eating it, even if it’s your favourite food – i.e. elephants and peanuts.

You’ve performed for a few anaphylaxis support group events. Who else has heard your songs?

I’ve been playing at schools here in Kingston. But it’s interesting to perform for a support group, where everybody has anaphylaxis or allergies, compared to a classroom, where you only have two or three allergic kids.

I changed the message a little bit to make it suitable for everyone. The kids without allergies were almost wishing that they had allergies. They’re really into the songs, dancing and having fun. I play a 45-minute set, and then there’s 45 minutes of questions. Everybody wants to learn more.

What kinds of questions do the kids ask you?

Sometimes they just want to share their story about their dad, who had a reaction to milk. They’ll ask what you should do if you find an EpiPen in the schoolyard.

And then there’s just some young kid extreme questions, like what do you do if someone stabs you in the back with an EpiPen. It’s quite a range, but they are all great questions.

First published in Allergic Living magazine’s Summer 2007 issue.
To order that issue or to subscribe, click here.



From "Smellephant the Allergic Elephant”

There once was an elephant
Whose name was Smellephant
Whose trunk was always stuffed up.
He ate so many peanuts
That he figured that one got stuck

He hoped it’s not an allergy
So asked a good old pal to see
If anything was stuck in that trunk,
But everybody knows that ol’ Smellephant
is allergic to nuts.



You can order “You Must be Nuts” from Dine’s website at www.kyledine.com. For more info on Dine’s allergy translation service, which offers cards that explain your allergies in one of 22 languages, visit www.allergytranslation.com

- Allergic Living Magazine

http://www.kyledine.com/MP3s/kyleinterview.mp3 - CBC Radio 1

“Nutty” Food Allergy Music
Interview with singer/songwriter Kyle Dine

Why this project?

Even though I am only 23 years old, growing up with food allergies has matured me to act beyond my years. I want to make a difference while living each day to the fullest!
The only music I associated with food allergies were “singing the blues”: music about missing out on regular foods, treats and special dishes. I want to help change attitudes through my upcoming CD You Must Be Nuts! The first of its kind, this CD will provide children with allergies more confidence about their condition. Positive, up-beat and catchy songs will help them and their peers take allergies more seriously but through a fun manner.
When growing up with life threatening food allergies, you really can’t be reminded enough of all the dangers and the precautions you have to take. This CD repeats my mother’s messages: “be careful, carry your medicine, don’t eat from strangers, don’t eat the birthday cake, read the ingredients and where is your Medic Alert?” without the nagging!

Why now?

Studies show that food allergies are on the rise and becoming more severe. More kid-focussed educational resources are needed. Music is my love. Through it, catchy and fun songs provide positive messages about being safe while promoting allergy awareness.

Can we hear a sample of your music?

You can have a listen at Myspace.com/kylepnut

Kyle, your plan is exciting. How can we help?

I am preparing to tour across North America promoting this CD and food allergy awareness. I seek sponsorship grants, advertising or donations to help aid the cost of recording and manufacturing. This collection of songs is dedicated to bringing the allergic world together to share our thoughts, feelings and laughter all under one voice. - B! Online

http://www.kyledine.com/MP3s/kyleinterview.mp3 - CBC Radio 1

http://www.kyledine.com/Video.html - NBC Houston

http://www.kyledine.com/Video.html - NBC Houston