By SEANA KELLY-COFFIN

If Mary Lou Magee stayed inside the kitchen at the Windsor Inn, she never would have met James Brown at Wolf Trap or hammed it up backstage at the Baltimore Arena with Dana Carvey.

But the Arbutus resident's love of music brought her on stage periodically to sit and play drums with different bands. And once she was roped into singing one night for her own band, Kaos, she quickly left the kitchen and her job as a cook to pursue a dream.

"It's something I've always wanted to do," said the Randallstown native. "I've always wanted a band with a horn section."

As manager and lead singer for Mary Lou and the Untouchables, she has seen her dream fulfilled. Not only does she have John Gleim on drums, Steve Sengstack on bass, Charlie Hamilton on keyboard and Danny Lough on guitar, but she also plays with saxophonist Alan Dahlstrom, Bobby List and Brian Sanders on trumpet and trombonist Saul Strieb.

They must be doing something right since they have developed a following of more than 1,000 people in less than four years.

"When we got this band together, we didn't have to look for work," said Magee. "I think it's the music we do. We've got a lot of soul. Our music brings back memories for some people."

From Motown hits to Bruce Springsteen, the Untouchables touch it all. In fact, one night as they played "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out," Springsteen's own Clarence Clemmons jumped on stage and jammed with them.

"It was cool," added Magee.

Perhaps the most invigorating of their performances came when they were the lone band at the Arena opening for [Dana] Carvey and David Spade, both of Saturday Night Live fame.

According to Magee, they had the crowd of 4,000 singing along with them to "Mustang Sally."

"First, I was nervous," she said. "But we finally had a stage with enough room for all of us. We had everyone answering back to 'Mustang Sally.'"

Although the group has about three shows a week in places throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area, the group still makes time to do shows to help raise money for different causes.

This past Sunday, all the money from the cover at the Windsor Inn will go to support musical education in public schools in both the city and county. When Magee's neighbor, Dotty Langmeade, was one of two women killed during a robbery at the Farmer's Bank in Randallstown, the band held a benefit to help her family.

With a compact disc entitled "Untouched," due out within the year, Magee hopes that the group's popularity will grow outside the region.

"I enjoy making other people happy with music," she adds. "It's great to see them get into it."