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, hence the band’s name. The concept came about when Sinise requested for permission to bring musicians along during his USO tours. The group was initially known as “Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band”.

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 and Operation Iraqi Children, the latter of which was co-founded by Sinise in March 2004. They frequently visit military bases in the United States and abroad.

Sinise is a passionate supporter of troops and is now involved in building a memorial to America’s three million living disabled military veterans, at whose opening the band is expected to play.