At age 11, Nick Fichter began emulating Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash — such behavior might have panicked some parents, but not Fitcher’s mom, Stephanie Houston, who serves as the small musician’s manager and biggest fan. She couldn’t be more proud of her son and the other 11- to 13-year-old members of his band “Blackjack-Under 21 or Bust”, which often donates proceeds from performances to charities.

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For his 11th birthday, Fichter asked to play a benefit concert for Children’s Medical Center, she says. Blackjack played the birthday bash benefit at House of Blues last June. Fitcher donated several hundred presents from the event to the hospital, and the other band members — Samantha Freis, Jimmy Meara, Max Smith and Oliver Smith — agreed to include all of the cash collected at the door in the gift.

Fichter, who attends St. Thomas Aquinas School in East Dallas, says he wanted to give something to the Children’s hospital “just to be nice.” He adds that “it felt pretty good” when the nurses from the hospital thanked him and told him about all the kids he helped.

The young band members’ maturity and musical gifts make it easy to be their manager, Houston says. “I am amazed by their talent. I try to get them in front of people, but they sell themselves.”

When he was just 7 years old, Fichter learned from his father, an Austin-based musician, to play the guitar (later, attending Zound Sounds music school, he also learned the drums, bass guitar and piano). He discovered his desire to be a rock star one night at Antones in Austin when a band onstage asked him to fill in on guitar for a song. Fichter agreed, and that’s when he caught the performing bug, he says. The young Guns N’ Roses fan is part of a second group called Grunge and Roses, a Guns N’ Roses tribute ensemble. “Some day I hope we get as good as Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue or AC/DC,” Fichter says. “Those are my idols … someday I hope to play like Slash but I just gotta keep practicing.” Though he loves the ‘80s hair-band genre the most, Fichter says he enjoys playing most types of music, “except rap and country, that is.”

Blackjack, with Nick on the guitar, recently made its television debut on Good Morning Texas where they played the Guns N’ Roses’ hit Sweet Child O’ Mine. These days, local musician Trey Johnson schools Fichter on the guitar and piano, and musician Rob Schumacher works closely with the band to “fine tune their act,” says Houston. “Lots of other local musicians show up and help out too.”

So, young Fichter will grow out of all this someday, right? Not if he has anything to say about it. “I plan to be a rock star [when I grow up]. That’s what I’m good at,” he says assuredly. It’s difficult to question his certainty, especially when he adds, “you have to keep going. You should never give up on your dreams.”