Steve Salem Dies Of Cancer

Source: Tamei and, www.nytimes.com

Steve SalemSteve Salem died on January 29th at his home in New Rochelle, N.Y., after a three-year battle with cancer. He was 42.

Owner of Salem Entertainment, partner of Salem and Salem Consulting Inc, Salem and Eng (Motor Jam Records), and Ray and D.J. Publishing and who was Snow`s first management and acted as Executive Producer on five of Snow`s albums, 12 Inches of Snow, Murder Love, Justuss, Greatest Hits of Snow and Cooler Conditions.

Sources close to Snow, real name Darrin O`Brien have reported to be shocked by the news and have said it to be a sad loss.

Steve Salem will be buried at the Interment New Montefiore Cemetery, Farmingdale, New York, on the 31st January. He leaves a wife and three children.

Canadian Rapper Signs With Japan’s JVC Records

Source: Larry LeBlanc, www.billboard.com

Some six years after his Jamaican dancehall-derived single “Informer” topped charts around the world, Canadian artist Snow is putting the finishing touches on a reggae-based pop/rock album that he hopes will return him to the charts.

Even though the follow-ups to that 1993 breakthrough fizzled, Snow is intent on revitalizing his career and wats to let his detractors know that his much-publicized liquor-soaked, hell-raising days are behind him.

“I love [music] and hope I can now have a career at it,” says the soft-spoken Snow, married and with a 3-year-old daughter. “I used to have only one foot in the [music] industry. Now, I want to put two feet in. Eleven months ago, I quit drinking. I’ve realized I have to stay out of trouble and focus on music.”

In March, Snow (real name Darrin O’Brien) signed a deal with JVC Records of Japan, which will release an as-yet-untitled 13-song album in that country and the rest of Asia. Snow is looking to license the album elsewhere.

Recorded at Snow’s home studio, the tracks were produced and written by Snow with longtime New York-based collaborator M.C. Shan and Nashville-based producer/engineer Glenn Rosenstein.

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