StargateGirl
05-08-04, 06:03 PM
http://www.channelcincinnati.com/news/3279260/detail.html
Nick Lachey Reflects On His Cincinnati Roots
The following is a transcript of Dave Wagner's story on Nick Lachey, which was broadcast May 6, 2004, at 11 p.m.
Dave Wagner: He is a homegrown superstar, catapulted to fame by talent, good looks and reality TV. But away from the cameras, Nick Lachey is smart, charming and amazingly grounded. Tonight only on five, Nick and Jessica, from L.A. to Cincinnati.
Dave continues: In a city where fame is fleeting, they are the flavor of the month. A blonde-bombshell. A buffed boy-band singer turned solo. A double-dip of stardom, on every magazine cover in America. On this day, Nick Lachey is 1,900 miles away from the California coast, near the banks of the Ohio, riding around in a limo and staying at the Cincinnatian Hotel.
Nick: That doesn't feel like home. That feels a little weird, to be riding in a limo in your hometown.
Dave: While Nick is inside getting wired by MTV for our interview, the Reds Opening Day parade is under way outside. Nick has been invited to sing the national anthem.
Lachey: When you're by yourself, you feel the pressure. The only thing I do like about the new stadium is you're facing the screen with all the lyrics on it is, so, it's a bailout you know.
Dave: Nick's journey from Cincinnati to stardom began not far from Great American Ballpark, on Sycamore Street in Over-the-Rhine at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. In the late '80s and early '90s Nick was a handsome kid with raw talent.
John Gardner (SCPA teacher): He was a model student. I believe he was in National Honor Society. Nick was a very versatile, very versatile student. I mean, he was a very fine singer. He could do serious drama.
Nick: The Wiz. That was actually my senior year. I was the lion. In all honesty, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today if I hadn't gone to that school and had that kind of encouragement and that kind of training.
Dave: After attending Miami University, Nick became a boy band sensation with his brother Drew and friends Justin and Jeff forming the group 98 Degrees. But it was Nick's marriage to pop princess Jessica Simpson that catapulted both to superstar status. For the past year, the newlyweds have been tethered to a television crew from MTV, a big brother lifeline to stardom that both nurtures their careers and invades their privacy.
Lachey: It's an adjustment. As with anything, I think you go through the initial period of "Wow, this is pretty awkward," and then you kind of reach a level of comfort and routine where it becomes almost second nature and you're used to them and they're used to you.
Dave: While Nick lives far from his hometown, it's never far from his heart and head. Cincinnati hats and T-shirts. Lots of them. Reds, Bengals and Bearcats. Oh my!
Nick: I know Adam Dunn and Danny Graves and some of the guys from the Reds. it is cool for me because I never played sports.
Danny Graves (Reds pitcher): He's not what you'd think of being a pop star or movie star, a celebrity-type person. He's very down to earth and he loves sports.
Dave: What's a bigger concern to you in Cincinnati, Larry Flynt's Hustler store or the Bengals having a losing season?
Nick: By far the Bengals having a losing season. What has hurt this community more, having a store on Elm Street or whatever or having the Bengals having a losing record for 13 straight years?
Dave: Nick does worry about Cincinnati and has even talked about running for mayor.
Nick: You know, I think being on the road and not being able to be here, it makes you want to, it makes you want to try and make a difference somehow. What do I know about being the mayor of Cincinnati? You know what I mean? If I could make a difference in any capacity for this city, I'd love to help.
Jessica Simpson to Jay Leno: Nick definitely loves politics and he's obsessed with Cincinnati.
Getting Jessica to move here might prove a little more difficult.
Jessica: I would not want to live there no.
Dave: But at last weekend's Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby bash, Jessica told me she's warming up to the idea of being the Queen City's Jackie O.
Dave to Jessica: What do you think about the concept of being the first lady of Cincinnati?
Jessica: I'm all about fashion. So if I can bring more fashion into Cincinnati, that's the reason I would want to be the first lady, but that's all I know.
Dave: Nick tells me you're concerned about the shopping in Cincinnati?
Jessica: I am, I am. They need some really, you know, they need like a Neiman Marcus and a Barney's. We'll see what we can do.
Dave: While Nick and Jessica are a striking couple, they're also strikingly different, especially when it comes to Cincinnati cuisine.
Nick: Every time I come, I go straight to Skyline and make sure I eat Graeters before I leave town and try and get White Castles in there somewhere. So, yeah, my cupboard in LA is full of cans of Skyline Chili.
Dave: No kidding. You really eat it out there too?
Nick: I love it.
Dave: Could you rate these for me? Okay, I'm going to go down the list. Skyline Chili?
Jessica: Zero. I hate it.
Dave: Graeters?
Jessica: Love it. Ten.
Dave: While the country obsesses over this Hollywood power couple, Nick Lachey keeps his feet firmly on the ground, with one eye to the future and the other to the past.
Nick: I had a great time growing up here and I think a lot of the values that I hope I still carry with me today are a result of growing up in Cincinnati.
Copyright 2004 by ChannelCincinnati.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Nick Lachey Reflects On His Cincinnati Roots
The following is a transcript of Dave Wagner's story on Nick Lachey, which was broadcast May 6, 2004, at 11 p.m.
Dave Wagner: He is a homegrown superstar, catapulted to fame by talent, good looks and reality TV. But away from the cameras, Nick Lachey is smart, charming and amazingly grounded. Tonight only on five, Nick and Jessica, from L.A. to Cincinnati.
Dave continues: In a city where fame is fleeting, they are the flavor of the month. A blonde-bombshell. A buffed boy-band singer turned solo. A double-dip of stardom, on every magazine cover in America. On this day, Nick Lachey is 1,900 miles away from the California coast, near the banks of the Ohio, riding around in a limo and staying at the Cincinnatian Hotel.
Nick: That doesn't feel like home. That feels a little weird, to be riding in a limo in your hometown.
Dave: While Nick is inside getting wired by MTV for our interview, the Reds Opening Day parade is under way outside. Nick has been invited to sing the national anthem.
Lachey: When you're by yourself, you feel the pressure. The only thing I do like about the new stadium is you're facing the screen with all the lyrics on it is, so, it's a bailout you know.
Dave: Nick's journey from Cincinnati to stardom began not far from Great American Ballpark, on Sycamore Street in Over-the-Rhine at the School for Creative and Performing Arts. In the late '80s and early '90s Nick was a handsome kid with raw talent.
John Gardner (SCPA teacher): He was a model student. I believe he was in National Honor Society. Nick was a very versatile, very versatile student. I mean, he was a very fine singer. He could do serious drama.
Nick: The Wiz. That was actually my senior year. I was the lion. In all honesty, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today if I hadn't gone to that school and had that kind of encouragement and that kind of training.
Dave: After attending Miami University, Nick became a boy band sensation with his brother Drew and friends Justin and Jeff forming the group 98 Degrees. But it was Nick's marriage to pop princess Jessica Simpson that catapulted both to superstar status. For the past year, the newlyweds have been tethered to a television crew from MTV, a big brother lifeline to stardom that both nurtures their careers and invades their privacy.
Lachey: It's an adjustment. As with anything, I think you go through the initial period of "Wow, this is pretty awkward," and then you kind of reach a level of comfort and routine where it becomes almost second nature and you're used to them and they're used to you.
Dave: While Nick lives far from his hometown, it's never far from his heart and head. Cincinnati hats and T-shirts. Lots of them. Reds, Bengals and Bearcats. Oh my!
Nick: I know Adam Dunn and Danny Graves and some of the guys from the Reds. it is cool for me because I never played sports.
Danny Graves (Reds pitcher): He's not what you'd think of being a pop star or movie star, a celebrity-type person. He's very down to earth and he loves sports.
Dave: What's a bigger concern to you in Cincinnati, Larry Flynt's Hustler store or the Bengals having a losing season?
Nick: By far the Bengals having a losing season. What has hurt this community more, having a store on Elm Street or whatever or having the Bengals having a losing record for 13 straight years?
Dave: Nick does worry about Cincinnati and has even talked about running for mayor.
Nick: You know, I think being on the road and not being able to be here, it makes you want to, it makes you want to try and make a difference somehow. What do I know about being the mayor of Cincinnati? You know what I mean? If I could make a difference in any capacity for this city, I'd love to help.
Jessica Simpson to Jay Leno: Nick definitely loves politics and he's obsessed with Cincinnati.
Getting Jessica to move here might prove a little more difficult.
Jessica: I would not want to live there no.
Dave: But at last weekend's Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby bash, Jessica told me she's warming up to the idea of being the Queen City's Jackie O.
Dave to Jessica: What do you think about the concept of being the first lady of Cincinnati?
Jessica: I'm all about fashion. So if I can bring more fashion into Cincinnati, that's the reason I would want to be the first lady, but that's all I know.
Dave: Nick tells me you're concerned about the shopping in Cincinnati?
Jessica: I am, I am. They need some really, you know, they need like a Neiman Marcus and a Barney's. We'll see what we can do.
Dave: While Nick and Jessica are a striking couple, they're also strikingly different, especially when it comes to Cincinnati cuisine.
Nick: Every time I come, I go straight to Skyline and make sure I eat Graeters before I leave town and try and get White Castles in there somewhere. So, yeah, my cupboard in LA is full of cans of Skyline Chili.
Dave: No kidding. You really eat it out there too?
Nick: I love it.
Dave: Could you rate these for me? Okay, I'm going to go down the list. Skyline Chili?
Jessica: Zero. I hate it.
Dave: Graeters?
Jessica: Love it. Ten.
Dave: While the country obsesses over this Hollywood power couple, Nick Lachey keeps his feet firmly on the ground, with one eye to the future and the other to the past.
Nick: I had a great time growing up here and I think a lot of the values that I hope I still carry with me today are a result of growing up in Cincinnati.
Copyright 2004 by ChannelCincinnati.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.