Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 | 8:46 a.m.
Nathanial Archer Wolf is an American Indian who sings the blues.
When the 50-year-old Kiowa Indian from Anadarko, Okla., performs at Euro Place Ristorante, he reaches deep down inside and pulls out the pain of experiences from an enigmatic life that has taken him to some very dark places.
"Some say I went nuts," said Wolf, who has gone by the name Dana D'Zurella. "I don't think I did."
But, given time, he could have.
The blues saved him.
It helps him face the realities of his past life -- which included drugs, pimping, jail time and adventures in foreign countries -- and gives him hope for the future.
Wolf, whose heritage includes Kiowa, Cheyenne, Choctaw and Irish, was born in Nome, Alaska, where his father was in the Air Force.
Most of his childhood was spent on the plains of western Oklahoma, where his mother was from, but after his parents split he was shuffled between there and Jersey City, N.J., where his father was from.
He was big for his age -- at 12 he was 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighed 220 pounds and drove a combine during wheat harvests. At 14 he became a bouncer in an infamous Oklahoma City bar and by 17 he was on his own, working in construction.
At 19, Wolf moved to Lawrence, Kan., and studied at the Haskell Indian Institute.
"I majored in drinking and partying," Wolf said.
In 1976 he moved to New Jersey and worked in the construction trade, attending school part time at New York University, majoring in film.
For years Wolf worked as a documentary filmmaker, a bodyguard (he is an expert in martial arts) and as the owner of an escort service.
"Some of the things I did, my family didn't want anything to do with me," Wolf said.
He and his now-ex-wife moved to Las Vegas in 1996. He got into drugs and eventually served time in jail here for domestic violence following an altercation with his son.
Wolf says the domestic violence record has kept him from getting the kind of work for which he is qualified.
But he has learned to deal with that, taking this time to make changes in his life, to accept what he can and can't do. Wolf has gone through a conversion of sorts, an epiphany about all that was wrong with his past and to work toward a better future by singing the blues.
"I've been rich, I've been poor," Wolf said. "I don't like being homeless."
For the past three years Wolf has been without roots, sleeping in the homes of friends, and occasionally in storage units. When he travels he uses buses or a bicycle or his feet.
Things could have been worse, but a 4-year-old girl saved him. She is the daughter of friends with whom he was staying, doing odd jobs around the house in exchange for a roof over his head.
It happened about a year ago. Wolf had never considered singing onstage before.
"One day this little girl told me I frightened her," Wolf recalled. "She said she was scared of me because I was always talking to myself, doing a lot of crying. She told me I looked like a monster.
"She said that I should sing, that I would feel better -- and so instead of talking to myself I began singing to myself."
His transformation began.
"After I began singing, she said that now I'm pretty," Wolf said.
Wolf had always enjoyed the blues and jazz. He thought about taking his interest to a karaoke bar, but one night found himself at the Double Down Saloon listening to the Johnny White band.
He knew the songs the band was performing and sang along with them.
"It was an open-mike night and they called me up first to sing," Wolf said. "I made a fool of myself. But some people took an interest in me. They said I had charisma and a voice, but I didn't know how to sing, how to breathe properly and control myself."
Eventually he joined White's band and then formed his own.
From about 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. or so on Thursdays and Sundays at Euro Place, 1243 E. Sahara Ave., Wolf and his group perform some gut-wrenching blues that creates goose bumps for fans.
The band includes guitarist Bill "Blue Suede" Shahrozz, bass guitarist Bill Bennett, vocalist and guitarist Brent Semon, percussionist Andy Frechtman, vocalist and harpist Allan Burke and vocalist Reggie Love.
The music has helped reunite him with his estranged family.
"My son saw me here," Wolf said. "He told me he was proud of me."
After Wolf got off drugs he had a conversation with his own father.
"I told him that I was trying to change and had tried to change everything but had lost my way ... lost myself and everything," Wolf recalled. "He said that was not really as bad as I wanted to believe because once we lose everything, we can do anything."
And now that he has found the blues, Wolf believes everything is possible.
Lounging around
Steven David's, 545 E. Sahara Ave., is already making its mark on the local music scene after only being open a month, becoming a gathering place for musicians and music lovers. Last weekend the jam session included (among others) violinist Sasha; attorney/vocalist Nick Mastra and two cast members from the Greek Isles' "Tribute to Frank, Sammy, Joey and Dean" (Sinatra tribute artist Gary Anthony and Sammy Davis Jr. artist Louis Velez).
Also, Grant Griffin and wife Poupee Boccaccio, Michaellina Bellamy and her brother, Reno, Dick Boucher, Howie Gold, Robbie Robinson, Dennis Mellen, Red Michaels, Bob Cavin, Roger Russo, Ron Russell and many more.
The Friday and Saturday jam sessions begin around 10 p.m. and continue until after 2 a.m.
Kelly Clinton, entertainment director at Turnberry Place's Stirling Club, has created a clever novelty act -- three Frank Sinatra tribute artists performing on the same stage.
"Shades of Sinatra" premiered Saturday night at the Stirling Club. Clinton, who portrays Nancy Sinatra ("These Boots are Made for Walkin' "), promises more shows in the future, but there are no firm dates.
The stars of the show include Clinton, Ryan Baker, Carmine Mandia and Larry Liso.
"Each of them brings something a little different to the show," said Clinton, who also is the producer.
The entertainers perform separately, singing and sharing Sinatra stories, and sing several numbers together.
The debut was standing room only.
Blues Storm now performs from 8:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Saturdays at Home Plate Grill & Bar (4785 Blue Diamond Road at Decatur Boulevard).
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