If Frank Zappa had ever started a band with Pete Townshend of The Who in some alternate universe, the result would probably sound like The Good.

Guitarist/vocalist Tony Rodgers said the Zappa-like facetiousness that The Good deliver is something that naturally comes out from the band members’ collective humor. The group will be striding on stage Saturday night at the Copper Dragon Brewing Co., 700 E. Grand Ave.

It’s almost something that we can’t stop ourselves from doing. It’s like an outgrowth of our personalities, he said. I don’t think we could fake it.

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But there’s a fine line between being a novelty band, which we definitely don’t want to be, and incorporating humor into our songs, which we definitely try to do.

Some of this humor is essential to the Chicago-based quintet’s original songs. The sexual, guitar-driven uncertainties of Shame or the direction The Good take classic rock staples is wink-nudge hilarious.

On the flip side of The Good’s style, is the Townshend-esque rocking side that comes about as an influence from the heavier side of popular music.

It might sound pompous, but what we try to do is make pop music but pop music in the vein of Queen or The Who, Rodgers said. You would probably call them pop bands, but they’re definitely on the rock n’ roll side of pop music.

It’s guitar-heavy rock n’ roll, but it works on a lot of different levels.

Some of those levels are exploited on the Milky White album The Good released last year. The band responds on the album to classic rock act Ten Years After with a song of the same name questioning the reasoning behind the lyrics to the rock anthem I’d Love to Change the World.

Along with the fervency of songs like Popular Notions, The Good downshifts gears to electrified funk in Hang or to John Lennon-structured acoustic rock with Phish-like lyrics in Harry and the Mushroom.

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But a strong album cannot always launch a band into superstardom or even gain the band a following unless it can back the album up with an impressive live show.

Rodgers said putting on a worthwhile show is an essential ingredient of the whole Good package.

Some bands just get on stage and hammer away without thinking of the show on any different levels. And we really try to think about entertaining in a broader sense, he said. We make it more of a fun rock n’ roll show than a band just pounding away at their instruments.

We’ll throw in a few covers to keep people on their toes.

The crowd may already be wired and ready when The Good take the stage courtesy of opening act The Spelunkers.

The Spelunkers’ guitarist/vocalist Tommy O’Donnell said his Chicago-based power trio won’t be offering any rehashed rock n’ roll that rock lovers may be growing tired of.

We try to stay away from the standard chord progressions that people hear over and over, he said. We sort of have this running joke that if we write something generic the chord police will come and arrest us.

We tend to stay away from things that we can immediately recognize and expand the rock n’ roll outlook.

Staying away from the norms of rock n’ roll is a difficult aspect for The Spelunkers in terms of reaching a broad range of fans or appealing to new listeners.

It’s tougher to get a following, and it’s tougher for people to understand where you’re coming from but we sleep good at night, O’Donnell said. But the people that do understand it freak out.

Even if there is a lone fan at the show who understands the music of The Spelunkers, O’Donnell said that one person will make the show worthwhile.

The most satisfying thing is looking into the crowd, even if it’s only one person, and seeing them getting what you’re playing, he said.

There are times when you just scratch your head and say, What the hell am I doing?.’ But you got to love doing it first.

FACTOID:The Spelunkers will kick off the show around 10 p.m. There will be a $3 cover charge. For information, call 549-2319.