Sinise enjoys playing in band at fundraisers

The Lt. Dan Band plays 30 to 40 shows a year.

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

NEW YORK — Gary Sinise earns his living as an actor on CBS’ “CSI NY,” but for fun he plays in a band that often raises money for charity.

The latest fundraiser he’s getting behind is a memorial wall at Brooklyn’s Keyspan Park, which will honor the police and fire workers killed on Sept. 11.

“It’s a beautiful memorial. It’s well on its way,” Sinise said of the wall, which started as a project just for honoring Brooklyn’s fallen.

“We’ve expanded that idea, and we want to make it something that covers more ground. For the families of those fallen heroes, it’s going to be very, very meaningful.”

Sinise and his Lt. Dan Band (named after his character in the film “Forrest Gump”) will be at the Whitman Theater at Brooklyn College this Saturday.

His work

Sinise and the band play 30 to 40 shows a year, scheduled around his “CSI NY” schedule. In addition to starring on the program, along with Melina Kanakaredes, Sinise is one of the executive producers, so he’s able to build in some days for charity work.

Sinise has donated some of his own money to the fund, and the goal is to raise $100,000 from the concert. He said he learned of the wall a year and a half ago, through a firefighter friend.

“I try to do shows that can help various charities, or support the troops,” Sinise says.

In its touring, the Lt. Dan Band has played abroad for U.S. troops and around the country.

Being the star of a hit show, he said, helps bring more people out and raise awareness.

“I’ve played music for years,” he says. “It would be for small crowds. I was in a jazz group; we’d have 10 people.

“The fact that I’ve been on ‘CSI NY’ and in movies, that all makes the work I do in the band more possible. We’re able to draw some bigger crowds.”