Jason Sinay is a name that carries weight in the music world, not just for his collaborations with icons like Keith Richards, Neil Young, and Lucinda Williams, but for his long-standing role as a member of Heartbreaker Mike Campbell’s band, the Dirty Knobs.
Now, stepping into the spotlight with his solo career, Sinay is carving a new path defined by raw masterful and original songwriting, and a deep connection to his musical roots.
At the heart of this next chapter is “High Plains Drifter,” the lead single from his upcoming double album, “The Mountain“ due to be released at the beginning of 2025.
Inspired by Clint Eastwood’s iconic Western of the same name, the song blends cosmic country-rock with introspective storytelling, painting a vivid picture of self-reckoning. Its jangly guitars and atmospheric grooves capture the timeless spirit of the Old West while reflecting Sinay’s personal journey of confronting inner demons and embracing the complexity of human nature.
In this exclusive interview, Sinay opens up about the inspiration behind the official music video to “High Plains Drifter”:
1. Tell us the story of this song. Why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?
“High Plains Drifter” centers on an ominous character — “Born to be a liar/ Born to be a liar/ Like me” — who turns out to be the man in the mirror.
The song is about coming to terms with my own sense of good and evil within myself. I never wanted to look at evil in my life. I always was like, That doesn’t exist. That can’t be true. People aren’t that bad.
And then I realized, Well, sometimes, I’m not that bad.
The song is named after Clint Eastwood’s 1973 Western High Plains Drifter — one of my favorite films ever made!
2. What was the inspiration behind this video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?
We approached legendary music video director Woody Ford, who brings fun and compelling imagery to his work. We all are fans of the silent Western/Comedy films of the early 1900’s and thought those masterpiece’s could be a great resource to tell the story of the onimous characters of the old West, outlined in the song. I am thrilled with the results.
3. What was the process of making this video?
Woody and his team spent over 40 hours viewing classic silent films, most over 100 years old, that he could repurpose to bring the storyline to life. I was blown away with the wealth of great footage they uncovered.
It was amazing how Woody used the lyrics, throughout the video, and kept the integrity of these classic films by making the video in the style of a silent film. He did use some modern AI technology, to incorporate me as one of the characters in the video … see if you can locate my cameo?
Keep up to date with Jason Sinay on his Website.
Modern Mystery 