By Roger Hillis
The first thing club-goers notice about Marylou & the Untouchables is the voice. "I have one of those voices that goes up for Janis Joplin and down for 'Mustang Sally'," said frontwoman Marylou Magee. "It goes from clean to raspy."
The band will appear at Fager's Island, 60th St. and the bay, on Fridat and Saturday, Jan. 14 and 15.
Magee's partners in crime include Charlie Hamilton on keyboards; former Tom Larsen virtuoso John Postley on bass; guitarist Sean O'Brien; drummer Bras Kimes; trumpet player Brian Sanders; baritone saxophonist Moe Goldman; and alto saxophonist Allen Dahlstrom.
While some acts occassionally leave their horn sections home to accomodate smaller stages and budgets, Marylou says that with her band, what you see is what you get. "We always bring the horns," she said. "I want to do a full show everywhere we go."
The group is based in Baltimore, but considers Ocean City its second home. Former six years ago, they played O.C. regularly for the last four. "The people (in Ocean city) really like to party it up," Marylou said. "We have a great following at the ocean. Plus, a lot of our (Baltimore) fans make reservations (at hotels there) and come see us."
In 1998, the group was named 'Best Band on the Beach' at the annual Labor Day weekend competition sponsored by the Ocean City Dept. of Recreation.
They also opened for Ray Charles at Bally's. "We got to meet him; he's a really nice guy," Marylou said. "We got to hang out with his backup singers, the Raelettes. One of them came up and said, 'Girlfriend, was that you I heard singing?'"
Another choice opening slot was a Baltimore Arena appearance with comedians Dana Carvey & David Spade. "We played in the beginning, at the end, and in between their acts," Marylou said.
Magee started out as a drummer. She had no vocal ambitions until Dimitri Callas, a former guitarist for Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, dared her to come out front for a song. "After a couple of shots, I sang "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" (by Bob Segar). Dimitri had to start the song a couple of times before I finally came in," Marylou said.
She soon became the frontwoman for a hard rockin' band called Kaos, in which she belted out tunes by the likes of AC/DC. With the Untouchables, she sticks to a soul-R&B groove. Her percussion days are gone, but not forgotten. "I need to get back into it a little," she said. "I got to play drums on a beatles (cover) recently and it was a lot of fun."
The band's full-length CD, 'Untouched,' is similar to its stage show in that it combines original compositions with cover songs. The disc has sold over 3,000 copies, and a followup is in the works. "We hope to finish recording the new CD by summer," Marylou said.