Who: Tyler Kyte
What: keeping talking
Where: Toronto, ON
To Contact: 118 Christie St # 6, Toronto, ON M6G- 3B2; Tel: 416 537 4462; ; www.myspace.com/tylerkyte

The 22-year-old singer/guitarist/ keyboardist/drummer has a unique rock voice with a slight scratchy quality that gives a kind of cool factor to this emotional melodic pop/rock. On this five-song introduction, the Let’s Talk EP, the mid tempo “What You Need” could easily be a hit, and the piano-based ballad “Sarah” with violin courtesy of the real Sarah (McElravy) is pure heart-breaking agony (in a good way). The more pressing light rocker “Some Things Are Better Left Alone,” with its sing-along chorus, could also do nicely on radio. The EP was produced at The Canterbury Music Co. in Toronto by ex Wave singer Dave Thomson, who also co-wrote “What You Need” and “Some Things…” with Kyte. The only other co-write is “Let’s Talk” with another promising young artist, Jesse Labelle. The tracks were engineered by Jeremy Darby and mixed by Mark Makoway (ex Moist guitarist). An actor as well – as a kid he was on Popular Mechanics For Kids with Elisha Cuthbert – Kyte currently plays drummer Spiederman on Instant Star. He was lead character Jude Harrison’s love interest on season three and next season, set to air in July, will be launching a solo career. The show actually shot a video for “What You Need.”

Who: Belly
What: living large
Where: Ottawa, ON
To Contact: Capitol Prophet Records, 3349 Bloor Street West, Suite 77, Toronto, ON M8X 1E9; Tel: 416 761 5657; Fax: 416 233 3430; ; capitalprophetrecords.com.

The Ottawa-based rapper/producer, who helped make Massari a gold-selling artist in Canada, likes to do everything over the top, from having a press kit which even includes photos of his Ottawa Hip Hop Music Awards and full-page cardboard one-sheets on his opening slots (Nas, Fat Joe) right through to putting 23 tracks on his forthcoming album, The Revolution. If he could just chill, he’d save some trees and realize that less is more, even selecting the best songs. He produced the collection himself (with some work from Lynxx, Daheala, and Beat Merchant) at CP Records’ studio in Ottawa with engineer Goggs Gordon, and has various guests – most notably Scarface on the single, “I Swear,” but also Jokaman on “In The South,” Tru Life on “My Stocks Goin Up,” and Vico and Deuce Deuce on “The Fam.” The stand-outs are the minute-and-a-half-long “Thunder,” with its AC/DC nod, which has a more forceful vocal delivery and rapid-fire flow and the lyrically impactful “Dead Soldier.” Calling the double album “controversial” – not sure why – Belly (who, yes, also goes by Rebellyus) rhymes about poverty, politics, sex, and the streets. Word is, since The Revolution’s delay, he has added guests Ginuwine, Mario Winans, and Nina Skye. In January, he did a full tour supporting Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube. Look for pics in the next kit.

Who: Lions In The Street
What: do not exile
Where: Vancouver, BC
To Contact: www.lionsinthestreet.com; www.myspace.com/lionsinthestreet; .

This ripping rock ‘n’ roll band – think Rolling Stones circa ’71, ’72 – “almost made” a record with Todd Rundgren or Bob Ezrin, frontman Chris Kinnon says, but a “rough” experience with a big U.S. label (as The Years) for which they started recording an album prompted the band to go it alone with a new name. The resulting five-song EP, Cat Got Your Tongue, was self-produced in a Vancouver basement on an old 8-track with “some half-broken microphones” and it’s a bit spooky what a throwback to the early ’70s it is. These songs would not be out of place on Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main Street, and that says something about the calibre of songwriting -loose, chugging rock ‘n’ roll, from the electric fireburner “Already Gone” to the haunting acoustic blues of “Feels Like a Long Time.” Vocalist/guitarist and songwriter Chris; his brother, drummer/vocalist Jeff Kinnon; guitarist Sean Casey, and one-named bassist/vocalist Enzo have logged stage time with Jet, Kings of Leon, Ambulance LTD, and others, and just hit the U.S. for the third time in a year. LITS might be milking the oh-so-close-to-tapping Ezrin/Rundgren thing, but why not? When you’ve been f**ked by a major, it doesn’t lessen the fact that two great producers wanted to add your band to their C.V.