How were you approached to record the Psycho III soundtrack with Carter Burwell?
Carter Burwell contacted me. It was when he was just starting out in movies. I guess he thought my sound was crazy enough for the movie.

Did you get a chance to meet Anthony Perkins?
No. The only person I dealt with was Carter Burwell. The main composer will contact me to get me work. Michael Kamen got me a lot of work with the ‘Lethal Weapon’ soundtracks. I met Mel Gibson and Danny Glover because I worked on all four, but ordinarily musicians don’t meet the stars because the movie is done by the time we are asked by the soundtrack composer.

What do you think of the impact Psycho and Alfred Hitchcock have had on pop culture?
The first movie was good. Bernard Herrmann’s score was fantastic. Hitchcock did a lot of good movies like ‘North By Northwest.’

Did you get a chance to see Psycho III?
I haven’t seen the (Psycho) sequels. I saw pieces of it (Psycho III) when we were editing the tune for the scene. Weird scene.

Are you working on any other film soundtracks?
I’m not doing much soundtrack work anymore. I did years ago. I’m concentrating on getting my album done.

Special thanks to David Sanborn for taking the time to be interviewed and for consenting to have the interview posted on the web site.

Special thanks to Harvey Cline - staff photographer at www.smoothviews.com - for permission to use the photo of David Sanborn.

Special thanks to Michael Heraty for conducting the interview and securing the appropriate permission.

Return to the Interview Section of Psycho III