5 Minutes With: Steve Barton of Translator

Kevin Bronson on
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The biggest comeback of this decade hasn’t been by any one band, but by the entirety of the 1980s. It’s not exactly a news bulletin that the post-punk, new wave and electro that announced itself in the ’80s has wielded a huge influence on the current landscape. On Thursday at the Knitting Factory, a nice slice of that decade will reappear – a 415 Records reunion show featuring Wire Train, Translator and Debora Iyall of Romeo Void.

Here’s a quick history lesson: 415 Records was an independent label in San Francisco founded by Howie Klein, the punk rock-championing DJ/producer who went on to helm Reprise/Warner for 12 years (and now is a political blogger). The label’s in-house producer, David Kahne, went on to work at Columbia and Warner and has helped make a bunch of albums that are probably on your shelves. Included were the first two albums by Translator, formed in L.A. in 1979 by Steve Barton, a band best remembered for the jaunty pop song “Everywhere That I’m Not.” The members [pictured, from left: Larry Dekker, Robert Darlington, Barton and Dave Scheff] went their separate ways after their fourth album in 1986, and Thursday’s show (which will feature a new Translator song from an album that was recorded in the 1990s but never released) will be only their third reunion in 13 years. Barton, back in L.A. with a day job in music publishing after 15 years in the Bay Area, continues to make music as Steve Barton & the Oblivion Click. I caught up with Barton to ask about reunions, San Francisco and Having That One Song That Won’t Go Away:

Now that you, Larry, Bob and Dave have gotten back together for these shows, do you find that you all still get along?

SB: Oh, sure – they’re all literally my best friends. It’s interesting that when you get back together, whatever old things there were don’t seem to matter. It’s been great.

You guys were kind of the epitome of college rock. You don’t hear that term much anymore …

SB: I don’t know if it was called that back then, but what it meant was that you got played on college radio stations. Mainstream radio would scout college radio for the next big thing – that’s what happened with “Everywhere That I’m Not.” It was great, on college radio you’d hear a guy say [affecting a stoner voice] “Oh, that was … What did I just play? … Oh, Joe just walked in with a big drink …” And then on mainstream radio, you’d have [affecting a very convincing baritone], “And that was Translator with their smash hit ….”

Do you remember writing “Everywhere That I’m Not?”

SB: Yep. I was living in a little house in Echo Park. I had just listened to “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop. I was obsessed. I’d play it, flip it over – it was vinyl, of course – and play it again. I started playing these chords … it has a similar beat to “the Passenger,” and it just came out, very quickly. The amazing thing is that it still sounds today like it did back then.

Some people get sick of their “signature” songs – are you tired of “Everywhere?”

SB: Absolutely not. In fact, it feels weird not to play it. Sometimes when I play it with the Oblivion Click band, people will come up to me and say, “That’s a really cool cover, man,” and I have to say, “Actually, I wrote that.” But it’s not a terrible problem to have – to have a song that people remember.

A lot of the music from 415 artists has held up pretty well over the years.

SB: I think it’s because basically the songs were very strong. And the records were very vibey. The first Translator record, which David Kahne produced, has this great angular pop thing because of what were were all into at the time – XTC, Gang of Four and, of course, the Beatles, from whom all things sprout.

What would you serve at a 415 Records reunion party?

SB: If I were catering the 415 Records party, it’d definitely have to be just coffee and beer. In those days in San Francisco, there were all these cafes – they were an important part of the culture. So maybe in addition to some real good food, because of the restaurants there, it’d be coffee. And beer, because beer is what fuels it all.

||| Live: Wire Train, Translator and Debora Iyall of Romeo Void perform Thursday night at the Knitting Factory and Saturday night at Slim’s in San Francisco.

||| Watch: The video for “Everywhere That I’m Not”: