PICTURES of the trip

I know I have been posting pictures of the trip on here, but to make it easier, I created a Picasa web photo album. If you haven’t used that before, it’s very easy to create. Picasa is owned by Google, so if you have a GMAIL email address like I do, you can make your own online photo album.Here are my pictures for Team Lachey http://picasaweb.google.com/teamlachey Enjoy !!!

THANK YOUs

I think I am going to keep this blog going, even though we are back from NYC as champs of Clash of the Choirs.  Though it may be morphed into the Team Lachey blog, because since we have been back, there have been so many interview requests and opportunities to sing presented to us, this is going to become a phenomenon.  More info on that sometime soon.I owe a BIG HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for Team Lachey.  I know we had the entire workforce at Children’s Hospital voting for us.  But I had friends from my past email me and leave comments on this blog — friends I hadn’t talked to in forever — telling me they were voting for us.  My sister’s college roommate’s family (holla to the Paponetti’s for voting) was voting.  John Kiesewetter from the Cincinnati Enquirer posted stuff about this blog and our experience on his personal blog (http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/tv/) about the show.  CincyMOMS.com had threads about us.  And of course I have to thank Brad Warm again (webmaster of both chuckmerk.com and this blog) for setting this thing up.  To everyone who left comments on this blog (friends and family and colleagues and even strangers who think TEAM LACHEY rocks) a big heart-felt thank you.  Your words kept me going throughout the 9 days in NYC.  I have never worked so hard on anything in my life.  I couldn’t dance at all before this experience.  Some may say I still can’t dance.  Maybe that’s true.  But someday maybe you’ll see me on So You Think You Can Dance haha.  My feet and legs still hurt from dancing so much.I LOVE YOU ALL. 

Flight home back to Cincinnati

Morning after the party, I woke up around 9:00 to pack and get ready to leave for the airport.  After my experience leaving Cincinnati and missing the flight, there was no way I was going to miss this flight home.  I was happy to be able to see my family and friends and sleep in my own bed, but damn was I going to miss New York City and the people in Team Lachey.  I tried to eat a small breakfast before getting on the van to take us to the Newark Airport.  There were 9 of us flying out of that airport.  This was the only crappy part about the trip.  All 20 of the choirmembers weren’t on the same flight back home to Cincinnati.  We were split onto 3 flights.  It would’ve been nice to be on the same plane and be able to say goodbye.  Then again, that would’ve been harder to say goodbye to everyone.  I was nervous to get on the plane back to Cinci.  Partly because I knew I was going to get emotional when we would land in Cinci.  Also because I hate flying.  A big thank you to Jordan, one of the guys in the choir.  He sat next to me on the flight back, and we talked the entire time.  The only time we weren’t talking is when John Scott (another choir guy) would give us his earbuds to his iPod to listen to a gospel song.  Jordan made that flight work for me.  We talked and talked about stuff back home, but mostly talked about the experience.  The main theme was how this experience was meant to be.  Everything worked out for a reason.  It all felt right.  I gained 19 new family members.  I couldn’t have scripted it any better. So we land in Cincinnati, head down the steps of the puddle jumper plane, onto a bus, back to the terminal, where we find the newsstand store.  I wanted to see if we were in the paper, and sure enough we were.  TOP STORY.  Front page.  Very cool.  I bought a paper then headed with everyone else on a shuttle to take us back to the main terminal.  We walk down the hall from the gate to baggage claim, and as we turn the corner, we start hearing cheers and screaming and TEAM LACHEY TEAM LACHEY.  We had a welcoming party.  There must’ve been 150 people there — many of them people who work at Children’s Hospital.  There were other family members.  Media.  David Pepper (county commissioner for Hamilton County).  I had never had a welcome like that.  I felt like a rock star.  Wait a second, WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.  I posed for a few pictures, then headed up the escalator to baggage claim.  Got my bags, said my goodbyes to a few of the people, and left.  I knew we would see each other soon.  We had to.  We are family.  We are Team Lachey. 

Partying with Nick

So we all got changed out of our show clothes, packed everything up, then headed upstairs to the cast party the show was having.  Not to gloat about our win, but to see the people in the other choirs and have a drink with them.  Yes, we were headed to a boatride around Manhattan on a luxury yacht Nick rented with his own money.  But this party was actually OK.  The room was small, and the lines for the bar were huge.  Imagine that.  Somehow I managed to get up to the front of the line.  What did I drink?  A CC Manhattan straight up, of course.  Found some choir buddies, chugged the drink, then boarded the bus to head to the boat.  We pulled up, and saw the boat.  It was freakin huge.  As we get off the bus and head inside the boat, there are 3 waitresses there with trays of champagne.  Right on.  I drank 2 immediately.  There was a table of veggies and cheese and prosciutto and snack appetizers (pigs in a blanket, pizza, chicken strips).  Dance floor, DJ, disco balls, lights, mirrors, and a fully stocked bar.  This boat ride was amazing.  At one point, we all ended up on the upper deck, open and exposed to the beautiful world.  No coats either.  It was right when the boat stopped in front of the Statue of Liberty.  That was awesome.  In the middle of the water, stopped, looking at the Statue of Liberty.  Nick was up there too.  So of course we sang.  We sang What a Wonderful World.  I started crying as the song ended.  We had to sing some more, so of course we picked Nick’s song.  We wailed on that.  Got cold, so headed back downstairs for more food and drink.  I remember falling asleep on the bus, getting back to the hotel, then falling asleep immediately.  What a long night, but a great night.  I had never been that tired.  Nor have I ever been that happy.What started out as an audition (the first EVER audition I had for a music thing) has led into the most magical experience.  Everything was meant to be.  It played out exactly as it needed to. 

Thoughts as we were announced the winners of COTC

So Tracy Morgan announces that we won Clash of the Choirs.  I know I jumped up in the air, almost falling off the risers.  From that moment until we ended up in the dressing room are somewhat of a blur.  I know I was hugging everyone in sight.  I couldn’t believe it.  At first, I thought “This was meant to be”.  I know that’s cliche, but it’s the truth.  This whole experience was so surreal, so perfect.  Before I even tried out, my sister Jackie and I were talking about if I should audition or not.  She said “This is the reality show for you”, and I believed it.  Back to the show.  At one point I looked over at the members of Patti LaBelle’s team.   I thought of something one of their members told me.  He said “We are jealous of your choir, not because you may win, but because you lived the experience we all thought we were signing up for.  You were a choir.  You sang many different types of songs.  When I auditioned, I thought that’s what I was going to get.”  Then I saw the rest of my choir, standing in the middle of the stage, with the other 4 choirs around us, smiling and crying and yelling and praising God and Jesus.  I prayed more that week than I have in 5 years.  I looked in the audience and saw everyone smiling and cheering.  I got off stage as the show ended, and started running towards the exit.  Turning on my iPhone, I had 17 text messages and 12 voicemails.  Had to call my parents first.  Then Jackie.  Then Beth.  Then Brad.  Didn’t think Bob would answer his phone, so that’s why I called Brad (sorry Loafy, I know you did the site and all, but if I didn’t call my family first, I’d have been shot).  Couldn’t hear very well, nor could I talk since I had been screaming onstage (speaking of, my voice is still shot and it’s 4 days later).  Backstage on the way up to our dressing rooms, I started running down the halls.  Found about ten other members of Team Lachey heading up to our dressing room.  I said we should sing something.  And since all the dressing rooms are about in the same area of the building, we pick WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.  Take that, Patti.  We screamed that singing down the halls.  Ended up outside our dressing room, where a camera from Access Hollywood was there waiting to take interviews (Maria works for that show).  We go inside, sing some more, then Nick shows up, and we sing for him on camera.  Cameras turn off, and leave, and Nick has the floor.  He looks at us and says “Guys, I love you so much.  This whole experience has been magical.  I never thought I would say this, but you taught me what it’s like to love music.  I’ve been in this business for ten years.  This choir has renewed my faith in what music can do.  I love you so much, and just know that I have gained 20 new friends throughout this thing.  Now, get dressed because we gotta go party on the boat”.  HOLLA.  Next post …

Final Day in NYC

YES I know this post is a few days late.  Things have been super crazy since I got back to Cincinnati on Friday.  Besides going through major withdrawal (I miss the people in Team Lachey so bad it hurts), I have been trying to get caught up with Christmas shopping, seeing Jack and Jorie, my friends, family, and coordinating new appearances for Team Lachey.  That’s right.  I am now the official spokesperson/de facto manager of Team Lachey.  I will be handling future bookings and appearances.  More on that later.Let’s see .. the final post I uploaded from NYC was from the green room at the studio.  We were on a break before the final dress rehearsal.  That’s when we found out the schedule for the final show.  We would open the final show with all 5 choirs singing the Christmas song melody.  Then the show would proceed with each of the choirs doing one song, then a break, then the choirs doing their last song of their individual 7-song repertoire.  I think we are doing What a Wonderful World first, and finishing up with Sing a Song.  At that point, Maria would announce the 3rd place team (which everyone knows right now was Oklahoma City).  I figured they would’ve been in the top two with us.  They really came on strong at the end of the competition.  So did Houston for that matter.  Had Houston opened the show with One Sweet Day, I don’t think they would’ve been voted off.  Same for New Haven opening with Bon Jovi.  Alas, they made the wrong choices, and Team Lachey made the right choices.Once the 3rd place team was announced, I remember feeling a huge sigh of relief.  Our choir was going to live it up on stage Thursday night, especially since all voting was finished Wednesday night.  And since we did Bumblebee Wednesday night, there was no way any choir would beat us.  So our music director told us to leave it all out on the stage Thursday.  Have fun, enjoy the moment, but don’t slack off.  And I think we did a great job.  When they announced that Blake Shelton’s choir was in 3rd place, I about fell off the risers.  We were minutes away from being named the winners of Clash of the Choirs.  Many of us peeked to the right to Patti LaBelle’s choir and wished them good luck.  They were definitely our biggest competition — not in terms of vocal talent, but in terms of amount of votes.  The show came back from commercial break, and it was just Team Lachey and Team LaBelle on the stage, with Maria on the risers in between us.  Tracy Morgan comes out to announce the winner.  I’ll tell you what, I have never watched 30 Rock, the show on NBC where he stars.  And after his appearance on COTC, I won’t be running to the DVR to record the show.  He was such a tool.  Had his posse backstage, and wore that terrible diamond bling on stage.  I heard a rumor that the producers were going to have him speak more of an interview with Maria, but once they talked with him for a few minutes, they vetoed that idea.  Hence why he was only on stage for a few seconds.  When Maria gave him the envelope, I know I closed my eyes and silently imagined him reading Team Lachey is the winner.  (SIDE NOTE — DID ANYONE ELSE CATCH THE MUSIC THE SHOW PLAYED WHEN A CHOIR WAS VOTED OFF?  It was Jingle Bells, but a neat electronic version played in a minor key.  Yes, I am a music geek). Those of us on the stage-right end of the risers (nearest to Maria) could see Tracy Morgan take the winning team out of the envelope, and we could read “Team La” but nothing else.  And good ol’ Tracy comes out and says “THIS TEAM” because he forgot how to say LACHEY.  Maybe you caught him saying “Team Lack-eee”.  Thankfully Maria corrected him.  Next post … 

Home Sweet Home

Hi everyone — I have so much to tell you about my last day in New York City — Come back later tonight and it will hopefully be up.  Things have been crazy since we landed back in Cincinnati.

WOW

WOW, WOW, WOW, CONGRATULATIONS TO CHUCK AND TEAM LACHEY!!!

WE KNEW YOU COULD DO IT AND WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU

CHUCK, THANKS FOR PROMISING ALL OF US THAT WE COULD MEET NICK LACHEY IF YOU WON (just kidding)

HAVE A GREAT TIME TONIGHT, YOU GUYS DESERVE IT!!

I just talked to Chuck and they are getting changed and ready to board a bus to get on the boat to tour Manhattan. Nick Lachey is a lucky man to get to spend time with these people!!

Chuck Merk Blog Sets New World Record!!

OK, not a world record… but as of 5:00 today the chuckmerk.wordpress.com blog has over 1,200 hits today and over 3,500 in 6 days.  Thank you, everyone, for your support!!

THE BUMBLEBEE!!

Here is the link to all of last night performances including… THE BUMBLEBEE!!

Pure ROCKET SAUCE!! Loafy, OUT!