The Fuzed Take on the Fair

By Ryan Lytle

Monday, August 3, 2009

Sounds of Guns N' Roses famous song, "Sweet Child o' Mine" filled the Loudoun County Fair in Leesburg Friday night.

The tune took on a different sound, though, with a female lead singer pumping out the lyrics.

The band, known as The Fuzed, not only managed to get through the tune but played it extremely well.

This would usually not be such a remarkable feat except that members of The Fuzed still have to rely on their parents to get them to their gigs and they have yet to experience walking through the hallways of a high school.

Consisting of singer Cheska Zaide, 12, of Ashburn, lead guitarist Trevor Fichtner, 13, of Haymarket, bass guitarist Connor Ginger, 14, of Gainesville, and drummer Jake Rosenthal, 13, of Herndon, the group has only been playing together for two months.

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The Fuzed Take on the Fair

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The Fuzed during a lighter moment in their show at the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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The Fuzed perform during the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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Trevor Fichtner (left) and Cheska Zaide share a guitar solo together during the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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Trevor Fichtner was all smiles during The Fuzed show at the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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Jake Rosenthal plays away on the drums during The Fuzed show at the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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Cheska Zaide (right) sings and plays the guitar while Trevor Fichtner plays along side. (Ryan Lytle)

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Connor Ginger plays the bass guitar during The Fuzed show at the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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Trevor Fichtner plays a guitar riff during the show at the Loudoun County Fair Friday night. (Ryan Lytle)

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The concept for the band began in February when Zaide met Fichtner at the rock music school, Bach to Rock, in South Riding.

"We decided we wanted to play in a band and get bigger," Fichtner said.

This dream to form a band was fueled by the support of Zaide and Fichtner's parents.

"Cheska and Trevor decided they wanted to take it seriously and take it a step further from the school," said Zaide's mother, Rina Zaide. "So, with our help, we posted ads to start looking for people to play in the group."

This is when Ginger and Rosenthal heard about the prospects of playing in the group and, on May 15, The Fuzed was officially a band.

"We were trying to figure a name out really fast," said Ginger. "And, I guess, [The Fuzed] is what we thought of first."

Since the summer started, the kids have practiced six days a week for at least four hours a day.

Although The Fuzed are playing small gigs now, they have dreams of grander proportions.

"We just want to keep practicing and getting better," said Rosenthal. "We want to play in Warped Tour someday."

For the time being, they are content with improving their skills and focusing their time on writing their own songs. During their show at the fair, they played their first original song, "Peripheral Pain," and they are in the process of adding more of their own material.

"They are starting to master the performance part of music but they are still new to writing music," said Rosenthal's mother, Andrea Rosenthal. "They still have a lot to go through. They haven't had relationships yet or had their hearts broken."

Whether they are playing in front of 10 people or 10,000, The Fuzed show a rare charisma and confidence.

"It's just fun to play in front of a lot of people," Zaide said. "I like seeing people surprised at how good we sound."

During their eight-song show, many people in attendance were visibly taken aback by the quality of their music.

"If you like them now," Rosenthal's mother said, "imagine what they'll sound like in three years."

After their show, the group was humble about their performance.

"It wasn't our greatest," Ginger said.

Then the group ran off into the fair.

"They probably went to go ride the bumper cars," Rosenthal's mother said.

They may be an aspiring rock band but the members of The Fuzed are still just kids.

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