Lt. Dan rocks: CSI's Sinese comes to Turlock

When actor Gary Sinise and his band started performing USO shows a few years ago, soldiers always greeted him as Lt. Dan.

That was the name of the memorable disabled veteran that Sinise played in the Academy Award-winning

1994 film "Forrest Gump," about a mentally challenged man (Tom Hanks) who meets famous people and experiences major historical events without understanding their significance.

The attention on Lt. Dan from the troops combined with the fact that it was Sinise's most famous role -- and the one that got him an Oscar nomination -- prompted him to call his group the Lt. Dan Band.

The 12-member cover band comes to Turlock on Saturday to kick off a series of 50th anniversary celebrations for California State University, Stanislaus. The group will play everything from Jimi Hendrix to Beyoncé, Rascal Flatts, Tower of Power and the Police.

"We want a good crowd to come out and have some fun," Sinise said in a recent phone interview. "It's a fun band."

Sinise, 53, plays bass with other band members who handle the vocals and play guitar, sax, flute, percussion and keyboards.

Earlier in the day, at 4 p.m., Sinise will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree from the university at Snider Hall in honor of his outstanding accomplishments as a contemporary artist and philanthropist. The ceremony is open to the public.

Sinise is coming to Turlock because of his friendship with Cal State Stanislaus theater professor John Mayer, a high school classmate in the 1970s and good friend as the two came of age in Highland Park, Ill.

"We've stayed pretty close," Mayer said. "We were best of friends in high school. We were not just acquaintances. We did shows together and hung out together and knew each other's families. Our paths continue to cross and we communicate a lot through email."

Mayer said it wasn't hard to convince Sinise to come to Turlock. He said the actor was honored to get the degree and happy to perform a concert.

"Any opportunity to play music is one that he seizes because it's a passion of his," Mayer said.

Sinise got involved in music in the fourth grade when he started playing guitar. He was in several bands in high school and through his 20s, but put music away for a while as he concentrated on his acting career.

He and another classmate, Jeff Perry of "Grey's Anatomy," went on to form the famed Chicago Steppenwolf Theatre. While Mayer wasn't a part of that troupe, he has worked with the company from time to time, most recently coordinating workshops that the group organizes every summer at California State University, Fresno.

Since forming Steppenwolf, Sinise has appeared in several feature films and TV movies including "Apollo 13," "Of Mice and Men" and "The Stand." He currently stars as Detective Mac Taylor in the CBS crime drama "CSI: NY," a job he enjoys very much.

"Having a steady job on a TV show, having it be successful has given me security," he said.

Sinise said he missed playing music and returned to it about a decade ago. With many family members in the military, he also wanted to do his part to entertain the troops and started playing USO tours in 2004.

He's performed an estimated 60-70 concerts for the USO, taking the Lt. Dan Band to Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Singapore.

Sinise hasn't taken the band to Iraq but he has visited the country on his own a few times since the war started in 2003.

He said he wasn't worried about his safety because the bases are well-fortified. Things have calmed down, recently, he said. Last year some bases were bombed every day, but this year he visited a base that had no attacks for four months.

"It's still dangerous but it's much better," he said.

In addition to his USO shows, Sinise established Operation Iraqi Children in 2004 with author Laura Hillenbrand to help U.S. troop efforts assisting children in that country.

He remembers how horrible it was when Vietnam veterans returned to hostile treatment in the United States and he doesn't want to see that repeated.

"I want our troops to know someone cares about them," he said. "It's important to support them. They and their families are going through a lot."

This story was originally published October 24, 2008 at 6:51 AM with the headline "Lt. Dan rocks: CSI's Sinese comes to Turlock."