Lt. Dan Band

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lt. Dan Band
Gary Sinise, front man for The Lt. Dan Band, performs in the courtyard of the Pentagon May 5, 2006.
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois
Genre(s)	cover band
Years active	2004—present
Website	http://www.ltdanband.com/
Members
Gary Sinise Kimo Williams Gina Gonzalez Mari Anne Jayme Jeff Vezain Kirk Garrison Danny Gottlieb Beth Gottlieb Ernie Denov Ben Lewis Mitch Paliga
Former members
Carol Williams

The Lt. Dan Band is a cover band founded by Kimo Williams and Gary Sinise who have worked together since a Steppenwolf production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The band is named after the character Lieutenant Dan Taylor, whom Sinise portrayed in the film Forrest Gump. Sinise has said in interviews that many people know him by sight as "Lieutenant Dan" rather than by his real name.^[1]

The Lt. Dan Band has grown from the occasional jam session and Chicago-area gigs to performing for charities and non-profit organizations including the USO^[2] and Operation Iraqi Children, the latter of which was co-founded by Sinise in March 2004^[3]. They frequently visit military bases in the United States and abroad.

Sinise is a passionate supporter of troops who believes that support requires more than a flag or a bumper sticker and is now helping to build a memorial to America's three million living disabled military veterans, ^[4] at whose opening the band is expected to play.