Nearly two decades ago Gina Gonzalez found herself singing and strumming her guitar at a jam session with actor Gary Sinise, creator of the Lt. Dan Band.
“We had pizza and beer and sodas. We played a bunch of standard tunes and had a great time,” said Gonzalez, who performs Dec. 30 at Black Lung Brewing company in Round Lake Beach and Jan. 6, 2023, at Lindy’s Landing in Wauconda.
Six months after the first jam session, Sinise organized another one, and asked for the girl with the guitar to return. He was talking about Gonzalez. When Sinise created the Lt. Dan Band in 2004, the girl with the guitar was asked to join.
“It was incredible. It was everything I ever wanted to do just fell in my lap,” Gonzalez said.
Since joining the band, she has performed for military in the United States as well as overseas. She also wrote a song that Sinise asked her to perform on a 2004 tour to Singapore and Korea. Called “A Letter Home,” the song was written specifically for the men and women who serve and has been featured in a documentary about the military.
Singing the song is emotional, she said, and performing beside Sinise is inspiring.
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“He is the most down-to-earth, generous, funny compassionate person know,” Gonzalez said, adding, “He is one hell of a bass player.”
Gonzalez, who lives in Wauconda, performed with band until 2012 when she got married and decided to stop touring and build her name locally. She rejoined the band after being asked to substitute in 2019.
Gonzalez grew up singing. When she was 4 years old, she’d sit on top of the piano to sing while family members accompanied her.
“It was a natural talent,” Gonzalez said. “Throughout school, without any training, I just sang. As I got older, I started playing guitar. I liked the freedom of being able to accompany myself while I sang.”
She studied music in college, but received a degree in marketing from another university.
Through it all, she knew being a musician was what she wanted to do
She also gives voice and guitar lessons and touring close to home.
Gonzalez keeps super local when performing solo. The farthest I go from Lake County is Schaumburg,” she said. “I leave the city musicians to the city.”
When playing at local venues, she prefers there’s no cover charge, because she’s performing someone else’s music. “I’m also an original artist and I save those songs for places that charge, for example Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights.
Having performed for more than 30 years, Gonzalez said she has learned more than 1,000 cover songs and is often called the human jukebox, performing audience requests.
She says she plays anything from Etta James to Alice in Chains.
Among the most requested songs are “Jolene,” by Dolly Parton and “Me and Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin. She also does grunge rock and a lot of Pearl Jam and Foo Fighters, she said.
She adds, “My original music is very Americana folk. I am a folk singer. That’s how I write. I’m from the Midwest. It’s earthy music I write. When I cover songs, it’s the same voice, but it’s tailored to that genre of music. If I’m covering Pearl Jam or Tom Petty, it takes on a different life. It becomes more rock.
Gonzalez said at one time she worked for corporate America. “But I knew I’d rather be playing music. It’s something that’s inside my soul that I can’t deny. My parents thank God understood that. I’m a musician at heart. That’s the only job I’ve ever had that I haven’t called in sick for. I’m able to make a living doing this.”
She added, “I have best friends/fans ever—people support me and come to a lot of local shows. I’m really, really lucky.” A few weekends ago she placed at Broken Earth Winery in Long Grove and Chances Bar in Lindenhurst. “Both places were packed to the brim,” she said.
“Gina is really awesome,” said Joshua Grubbs, owner of the Black Lung Brewing company. “She plays here every couple of months and always has a very dialed-in, lovely crowd.”
Gina Gonzalez
When: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 30; 6 p.m. Jan. 6, 2023
Where: Dec. 30: Black Lung Brewing Company, 2217 Route 83, Round Lake Beach; Jan. 6: Lindy’s Landing, 115 Park St., Wauconda
Tickets: Free; must be 21 or older
Information: ginagonzalez.com
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Sheryl DeVore is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.