Biography
Dan Finnerty, the frontman and namesake of the Dan Band, entered the music world without any prior intention of pursuing it professionally—much less leading a troupe devoted to medleys drawn from 1980s staples such as Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” and Toni Basil’s “Mickey.” His early life unfolded in a modest rural community in upstate New York, after which he departed for Emerson College in Boston. There an interest in performance took hold, prompting a move to New York City and an eventual role in the cast of Stomp. Following a national tour, he landed in Los Angeles, where he encountered actress Kathy Najimy, his future wife, and began delivering his signature “diva” material at intimate venues backed by a four-piece ensemble. Growing buzz soon drew high-profile attendees to the shows, which in turn secured the band a spot in the comedy Old School and its profane take on Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Finnerty later took parts in Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal and in Starsky & Hutch. The Dan Band issued its first full-length recording, Dan Band Live, through the USA Side 1 Dummy imprint in April 2005; the following autumn the group put out the holiday collection Ho.