By WILLIAM SMILARDO

"Are you ready to party out there?"

Like a lioness, she crouches over the monitor, long blond mane crawling down her back, sharply contrasting her attire -all black boots, coat, and hat.

"I said," she growls, <"Are you ready to party out there?" This time, she gets the frenzied roar she was inciting. Mary Lou doesn't usually have to ask twice.

From the moment she hits the stage, doing a vamped-out snarling version of Joe Cocker's "You Can Leave Your Hat On," it's obvious that you're in for a different kind of show. Women who have never seen or heard her before are picking up their jaws, their purses, and the drinks they've just dropped on the floor. Men are instantly ordering another round to bolster their egos, becasue they know that the real leader of the pack had now entered the building!

So it goes, when I was given the opportunity to interview Mary Loy Magee, I jumped at the chance. We met at the Windsor Inn, located in Woodlawn, MD, near Baltimore. The Windsor is run by Elias Rizakos and Jimmy Vangelakos. It has a friendly, local atmosphere and boasts some out of sight lunch and dinner platters. It's also where Mary Lou made her rock-n-roll debut! While working there as a chef, she took her co-workers up on a dare, and beat out a few numbers on the drums! Then she was adding vocals, and before she knew it, a career weas being formed. She's appeared in bands such as Flashback, KAOS, and now the Untouchables.

Mary Lou has won numerous Balt/Wash Best Vocalist Awards. She's jammed with Clarence Clemmons of the E Street Band, lured James Brown from his dressing room for a kiss, and rocked a full house at Baltimore Arena while playing before, during, and after a show headlined by David Spade and Dana Carvey, both of Saturday Night Live fame.

As much as I've come to adore Mary Lou, I also have to say that the band behind her is not lacking on its own. These guys know how to rock, and the showmanship is superb. When Mary Lou leaves the stage, they kick out some blistering Stevie Ray Vaughn. When she's leading the, way it's all synchronized -horns spinning, twirling, shades on, hats dipping, kicks and steos. This is a top notch, professional group here, and if you get a chance to catch any upcoming local performances, I suggest you do it before they hit the Big Time! Sam Chaney, owner of "The Other Place," a Crofton nightclub, says, "Mary Lou and the Untouchables are one of the best bands to play at The Other Place. They are a crowd pleaser. Mary Lou is a dedicated entertainer and she will be here on a regular basis!"

Anchoring the band, on keyboards, is Charlie Hamilton, co-founder of the Untouchables. Danny Lough is on guitar, while the rhythm section consists of Steve Sengstack (bass), and Jerry Haebier (drums). The horn section combines Alan Dahlstrom, Saul Strieb, and Brian Sanders. Brian Wall handles the lights and sound. Talk about a group effort! Mary Lou and the Untouchables are Big, Bad, Bold, and Brassy; throw in the Blues, and you've got enough B's to fill a hive! Now, with the release of a new CD, Mary Lou and the Untouchables are ready for bigger fields of play. Untouched lives up to its name; being a mostly live recording, it adheres to the raw sound the band produces on stage. This is just fine with Mary Lou as she wanted to stay away from the "commercialized sound" of studio recordings. Keep your eyes and ears open - there's a BBBBuzz about this woman and the band built around her. And it's fitting:

Take me back to Reviews!