Born Performer

Gary Sinise (CSI: New York's Mac Taylor) has been performing since he was a kid.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Sinise has been acting and performing music for decades, but despite being most well-known for his acting roles, he actually got started with music. "I had my first guitar when I was in fourth grade. That's the first performing I ever did, in bands. From the fourth grade until about the time I was a sophomore, that was my main interest. It was actually through the band that I ended up acting," he told the Las Vegas Sun.

After a fateful encounter with some fellow band mates, Sinise was encouraged to dabble in acting. "I was standing in this hallway with members of my rock band," he said. "This lady came marching down the hall. She looked at the four or five us. We were looking kind of scruffy. She turned around and came up to us and said, 'I'm directing West Side Story and you guys look perfect for the gang members. Come and audition.' So we thought that'd be kind of funny. We weren't thinking much of it, but we all auditioned. Me and two of the other guys in my band got in the play." That first experience on stage was just the beginning for Sinise. "From that point on I juggled acting and music," he explained, "and then when I was in my early 20s I started a theater company, Steppenwolf. I got so busy with the theater company that I just stopped playing music."

"I guess I was always kind of a self - starter as a young teenager," Sinise said. "I started my own bands, my own baseball teams. I was always starting things up. I was kind of an organizer, director, leader type, creating these different things. When I was acting I kind of wanted to do it in a way that I wouldn't have to depend on anybody." So it was no surprise that Sinise would want to start his own theater company. At this point in time, his involvement in the company is limited to an executive level. "I'm a founder so I'm connected to it always," he said. "On a day-to-day level, I don't run the company anymore. I live in Los Angeles. The company's in Chicago. We have great people that are running it now."

Sinise loves being on stage, but he also loves working on New York. For him, having the right role is the key. "If the part is good, the director and the people and the script are right, it doesn't matter if it's a movie or TV or stage," he said. Sinise also makes time for his music now, playing with the Lt Dan Band. The actor uses his celebrity status to help others, and the band often plays for the benefit of the military. On Sunday, September 2, the Lt Dan Band will take part in a military appreciation show at The Club at the Cannery in Las Vegas. "I've got to admit the celebrity that I've achieved in the movie business has made it possible for us to go out and actually have some people show up and watch us play," he said. "They're curious as to what the hell I'm actually going to be doing in the band. Usually when they show up and hear us, they're shocked and surprised that we're actually good. We play a good, long show. There are a lot of fun moments."

The original interview is from the Las Vegas Sun. Tickets to the Lt Dan Band show at The Club can be purchased at The Cannery's website.

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