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MUSICOn a balmy and clear December Tuesday,Dana Wheeler-Nicholson makes herselfcomfortable in a patio chair at the HotelSan Jose. Even off the red carpet and outof the glare of stage lights and cameras,she’s striking.At 52, the actress retains a thick mane ofbuttery curls framing the regal bone structurefamously remembered opposite ChevyChase in Fletch and Kurt Russell inTombstone. Austin’s Richard Linklater casther in 2006’s Fast Food Nation. Five yearslater, she starred in two South by SouthwestFilm Festival premieres, 5 Time Championand Blacktino, while wrapping the finalseason of her role on the beloved FridayNight Lights.Wheeler-Nicholson considers herselflucky to have won her role on the late,lamented TV series. As an Austin resident,she commutes to the coasts for auditionsand acting, recently completing a filmOtherPeople’sSongsDana Wheeler-Nicholson’s night jobBy Margaret Moserdirected by her husband Alex Smith,Winter in the Blood, as well as anotherupcoming feature titled When Angels Sing,starring Harry Connick Jr., Lyle Lovett,and FNL castmate Connie Britton. She’salso taught acting classes for the AustinFilm Society.Living here also stirred another muse. Apassion deeply rooted in her New Yorkupbringing. One landing her slots at theContinental Club Gallery last year, and amonthly residency beginning now at theSahara Lounge.Two Degrees From ObamaSan Jose owner Liz Lambert strolls outon the patio. She greets the actress warmlyand they chatter about Mexico, whereLambert’s doing interiors for a hotel southof Cabo San Lucas. Wheeler-Nicholson’sjust back from New Orleans. The two metthrough Alex Smith eight years ago.T o d d V . W o l f s o nAt that time, Smith taught screenwritingand directing at UT. Once his future wifebegan visiting him here regularly, she –like so many before her – fell hard for thelocal charms.“People fall in love with Austin and theybuy houses,” she quips.She brushes some hair from her eyes asLambert blinks back the sun streamingdown into the serene landscaping.“Did you see RP on Letterman?,” Wheeler-Nicholson asks her, using local code forrecent Austin resident Robert Plant.“Patty [Griffin] said it wasn’t airing untilthe 6th!”“It was last night. Someone sent mea clip.”Lambert laughs, countering with, “TheKennedy Center thing isn’t on yet. Pattysaid she got kissed by Obama.”“That makes us two degrees fromObama!” exclaims her friend.Given her big and small screen allure,including stints on Sex and the City, Law &Order, and Seinfeld, it’s not hard imaginingWheeler-Nicholson singing one of herfavored jazz standards to the president likeanother screen gem.“In New York, the rooms I was playinglent themselves to those songs,” she says.“The material chosen included a lot moreballads and moodier things becausethey were listening rooms, jazz rooms.Alex keeps saying the music is so beautifuland romantic because it’s from anotherera.“At the Continental Gallery, we found thatcouples were coming to enjoy the music.That people were gettingdressed up and coming outin the middle of the weektogether to listen to songs.It was lovely!“I grew up listening tosingers all over New YorkCity, but it’s more singersongwriterin Austin,which I love. I’ve written acouple of songs other peopleseem to like more thanI do, but I don’t have aburning desire to writesongs. Why should I fumblein that territory?“There’s nothing worsethan mediocre songs.”Walk the LineA quick survey of her recent repertoireindicates a distinct Southwestern flavor toher great American songbook, with WillieNelson’s “Night Life” next to Billie Holidayfavorite “Comes Love,” and Tom T. Hall’s“That’s How I Got to Memphis” besideIrving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” Other standardsinclude “I Didn’t Know What Time ItWas” from Pal Joey and Tony Bennett’s “IWanna Be Around.”“It’s like acting,” offers Wheeler-Nicholson, considering the challenge ofperforming as a singer in a town where thebar for every musical genre sits high. “I likeinterpreting other people’s impressions.Other people’s songs.”At 52, the actressretains a thickmane of butterycurls framingthe regal bonestructure famouslyrememberedopposite ChevyChase in Fletchand Kurt Russell inTombstone.Paradoxically, that’s led her back towardsongwriting. She’s a veteran of the ultimatecollaborative art, so working alongside celebratedlocal talent such as jazz pianistEddy Hobizal finds them now workingtogether on new material. Pinpointing theright co-workers was itself a challenge. InNew York, she doubled up with both keyboardistsand guitarists.“I asked a lot of people – asked around alot,” she nods. “And David Pulkingham suggestedEddy and a couple other people, notstrictly for jazz. We started playing songsand it was so good. Then David stoppedworking with Alejandro Escovedo and Iinvited him. So it’s the three of us.”Pursuing work as a singer isn’t a bad life,but every now and then the day job takesher away from it all, as it did for most of lastyear. When she did get a chance to relax onlocal stages, her guests included HeartlessBastards’ bassist Jesse Ebaugh on pedalsteel and bassist Chris Maresh.“There’s a baseline of 30 or 40 songs pershow,” she enthuses. “It’s really aboutchoosing the songs I want as centerpieces.The night Jesse sat in on steel, I sang morehonky-tonk – country stuff we hadn’tplayed before. Other times we’ll do somethinglike ‘Night Life’ that everyone knows.What a song.“That’s the stuff I love, and I’m alwaystrying to walk that line.“To me, it’s the same at heart; I love singingjazz with country instruments and viceversa. Some of what I do is take songs out oftheir genre and move them to other areas.“I love singing balladswith a jazz trio, but I liketo mix it up too.”Now, there’s evendemand for a DanaWheeler-Nicholson CD.“I’ve never sung withany agenda, so recordingseems ... well, I don’t havea plan here. All I do isgigs and sing, so the ideaof recording seems mysterious,something youdo to get on the radio. I’mnot necessarily trying todo that.”In addition to the monthlySahara Lounge gigs,she returns to New YorkCity at the end of March tosing. It’s a trip she anticipates,slightly bittersweet because her oldhometown continues changing as fast asher adopted one of eight years.“Part of why I sing these songs is oldfashioned,but I feel strongly about where Icome from in the history of music in NewYork. I’ve been able to see Lydia Lunch atMax’s Kansas City one night and BlossomDearie at a jazz club the next.“And somebody’s got to sing these songs.They mean a lot to me. Maybe that’s why Idon’t have a plan to record, because othershave sung them a lot better.“But these songs should be sung.” nDana Wheeler-Nicholson performs at the Sahara LoungeTuesday, Jan. 29.44 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 18, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m