Energy filled the air of Eisenhower Hall Theatre as the sounds of orchestral and rock music rocked the auditorium at the West Point Band\'s Year of the NCO Concert celebration with actor Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band Sunday.
The West Point community packed the seats for an inspiring and raucous night of music and patriotism to celebrate the U.S. Army's Noncommissioned Officer Corps. "I am humbled but proud to stand here tonight as but one representative of the Corps of Noncommissioned Officers," USMA Command Sgt. Maj. Martin Wells said during his introduction. "The U.S. Military Academy Band is ... manned by noncommissioned officers who have honed their craft ... to the highest levels of proficiency and expertise."
The West Point Band performed first, and filled the auditorium with the grand arrangements of "The Boys of the Old Brigade," "Fantasy on Army Strong," and "Shenandoah - Ragged Old Flag," an epic piece with a spoken-word performance by Sinise, star of the CBS TV show "CSI: N.Y."
After its performance and a brief intermission, the lights dimmed and the Lt. Dan Band, with Sinise on bass, started its set with the hypnotic organ introduction to The Who's "Baba O'Riley," which is also the theme music to "CSI: N.Y."
From that point forward, the band, named after Sinise's character in "Forrest Gump," carried the show through the night, covering everything from Led Zeppelin to Aretha Franklin and Evanescence to The Police.
Sinise, actor, director and strong military supporter, co-founded the band with guitarist Kimo Williams, who is a Vietnam War Veteran. Williams briefly shared a humorous military experience with the audience during the show.
"(My leaders) told me, 'you can take your M16 and take your guitar to the frontlines and, depending on what's happening, pick up one or the other.' So one time I got to pick up the guitar and I used to play this tune," Williams said before he and the band launched into Jimi Hendrix' "Purple Haze."
In addition to covers, the band also accompanied vocalist Gina Gonzalez on her original song, "A Letter Home," a poignant dedication to U.S. troops and their service.
Earlier in the day, West Point Band Command Sgt. Maj. Cal Christensen, Wells, and others took the Sinise Family on a tour of the academy, during which Sinise revealed his Family's profound connection with West Point. His brother-in-law is the late Lt. Col. Boyd McCanna Harris, a Class of 1966 graduate, who served in the Vietnam War and as an academy instructor before he passed away from cancer in 1983, Wells said. Harris, according to Wells, is known for writing the "Be, Know and Do" tenets of current NCO doctrine.
Sinise had named his son and his "CSI: N.Y." character "Mac" as a tribute to Harris. On this, his first visit to West Point, Sinise and his Family saw the picture and plaque placed in Harris' honor in Thayer Hall, an experience he shared with the audience that night. "To see that picture, after 25 years, was a real knockout," Sinise said. "It is an honor to be able to be here and play for these cadets, these Families and people around this area, and pay a little bit of tribute for these brave people who are signing up to defend freedom."
At the end of the evening, Wells and Christensen presented Sinise with a Year of the NCO gift--a framed concert playbill with coins from the five command sergeants major on West Point.
Sinise thanked the West Point Band and community for giving him, his Family and band the opportunity to visit West Point, and said he would like to return to perform again. He also made time to meet with Veterans and wounded Soldiers one-on-one after the show.
"I have some friends and some wounded warriors here, and we can't ever, ever forget the sacrifices they made for us," Sinise said. "It's always an honor to be able to play for them and be with them, and (I hope they) had a good time."
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