Translator

  • San Francisco, CA
    hometown
  • Rock
    genre
  • 1979
    started
  • Bio
    full story
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About Translator


Inspired by the Beatles, the four-piece Translator featured two singer/songwriter/guitarists (Steve Barton and Bob Darlington) and a sound that spanned Merseybeat and stripped-down rock to psychedelia. Larry Dekker on bass and Dave Scheff on drums completed the lineup, a constant during the band's initial seven-year run, as well as for their sporadic, post-breakup reunion appearances. Formed in Los Angeles in 1979, Translator relocated to San Francisco where they were signed to Howie Klein's independent label, 415 Records, on the strength of the demo tape they sent to college radio station KUSF; the loose and rambling yet laconic "Everywhere That I'm Not" remained the band's signature tune.

The song was featured on Translator's debut album Heartbeats and Triggers (415/Columbia, 1982), which was produced by David Kahne and became an underground and college radio hit, though its 1983 follow-up, the Kahne-produced No Time Like Now, didn't fare as well. Breaking away from a tight new wave formula and finding a simpatico producer in Ed Stasium, the band created a lush third album simply titled Translator (1985).

As the decade wore on, they increasingly explored psychedelia, and live shows became three-hour affairs filled with traditional San Francisco rock-style jamming. Evening of the Harvest (1986) was the sound of a mature band and their most realized statement to date, as it fused rock with the band's increasingly nuanced side. And yet, it signaled their end. That year Columbia issued Everywhere That I'm Not: A Retrospective; two more CD retrospectives Translation (Oglio, 1995) and Everywhere That We Were: The Best of Translator (Columbia Legacy, 1996) followed, and the band took some brief shots at reuniting in 1993 and in 1995. In 1996, ten years after their official breakup, the band was paid its highest compliment when Beatles fans mistook their take of the instrumental "Cry for a Shadow" for a new recording by the Fab Four from the Anthology sessions (in fact it was an old Translator B-side). Translator continued to reunite on occasion, and Barton also worked as a solo recording artist. In 2006 Translator appeared at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, TX, where their tight, stripped-down rock of the '80s sounded right in line with the 21st century's back-to-basics rock. ~ Denise Sullivan, Rovi

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Music

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  • Un-Alone
    translator
    Video
    Un-Alone
  • Sleeping Snakes
    translator
    Video
    Sleeping Snakes
  • Come With Me
    translator
    Video
    Come With Me
  • 52617
    SoundStream
    SoundStream
    song name
    0:00
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    All the music you want, just 10 bucks a month. Try it free.
    • Everywhere That I'm Not
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/8/1/8/1/6/185361818.mp3
    • Sleeping Snakes
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/0/8/8/1/6/185361880.mp3
    • No Time Like Now
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/5/5/2/2/6/185362255.mp3
    • Necessary Spinning
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/1/6/8/1/6/185361861.mp3
    • Everything Is Falling
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/1/3/5/1/6/185361531.mp3
    • Come With Me
      http://listen.vo.llnwd.net/g1/3/6/4/1/6/185361463.mp3

Photos

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  • Columbia
    Translator
    Columbia
    Trudy Fisher

News

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  • Translator
    'Star Trek' And Klingon: Learn The Language Of The Aliens!
    MTV News
    May 16, 2013
    Creator Marc Okrand opens up to MTV News about origins of the 'guttural' language, teaching the 'Into Darkness' cast and more.
    Read More
  • Translator
    Hungover Links: An Epic Meltdown, Klingon Translator & More
    clutch.mtv.com
    May 15, 2013
    photo via Pleated-Jeans While you were drinking... Drummer Cornel Hrisca-Munn has no hands and can still slay Red Hot Chili Peppers's "C...
    Read More

Discography

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  • Evening of the Harvest (1986)
    Translator
    Evening of the Harvest (1986)
    Wounded Bird
  • Translator (1985)
    Translator
    Translator (1985)
    Wounded Bird
  • No Time Like Now (1983)
    Translator
    No Time Like Now (1983)
    CBS Records
  • Heartbeats and Triggers (1982)
    Translator
    Heartbeats and Triggers (1982)
    415 Records
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