Beneath the narrow limits and choices of mainstream classic rock lies it's less adulterated, less celebrated sounds. Maybe it's the lack of polish or the raw sexuality that keeps a lot of these bands off the list of, like, maybe 10 that make the cut. But like a muscle car without its hood, the power of bands like Deep Purple, Ten Years After, or Grand Funk Railroad is apparent, immediate, and unavoidable. And the fact that it is largely ignored by classic rock radio in a way makes it the truly classic rock. So when I say Buffalo quintet The Found is a classic rock band, you'll know where I'm coming from.

Started seven years ago 40 miles outside Buffalo at North Collins High School, The Found - Ben Hayes (drums), Harold "H-Po" Pollinger (organ, vocals), Bryan Mecozzi (guitar, vocals),Tommy "The Kid" Stanford (bass, vocals), and Nate Quiter (percussion) - embraces big, classic grooves with tangible nods to soul and r&b. At the heart of the band's powerhouse sound is the organ that comes on seething and swirling like a liquid avalanche over the rest of the band's rolling thunder. Live, the band is relentless as it taunts dynamically with a slow smolder.

The band doesn't fool around in the studio, either; The Found's first album was recorded in one day. The second one took three. And Mecozzi says the third may take a whole week. I called Mecozzi for an interview; it went quickly as well. Here's an edited version of what I found out about The Found.

CITY: What is The Found trying to find?

Bryan Mecozzi: Originally we just tried to draw from classic rock, basically. It's branched off since then into our own musical tastes - everything from country to roots music, reggae, folk, gospel...

But it doesn't sound forced at all. The influences aren't that apparent or transparent.

Not really. It just came out. We're all versatile musicians. When we set out to do a gospel tune it doesn't necessarily sound gospel.

But you can still hear the gospel in it yourself?

Exactly.

What gets me is the wall of power you guys generate. How'd you arrive at that? The organ?

That was two years ago. Before that we were doing two guitars, bass, and drums, like Handsome Jack. When our keyboardist got into playing more organ we pretty much realized we didn't want to go back from that. We just kept plugging away at it. Even though Harold started the group playing guitar, he's more of a keyboardist actually. He just never played with a guitar player he trusted to take over on guitar in the group.

He trusts you, though?

Yeah. And he made the transition. And it's worked out well for all of us, because I've never really done well playing with other guitar players. It's just one of those things. I have a handicap when it comes to that. Sometimes handicaps prevail in good things.

Would you call The Found retro?

I think we take ourselves as having a retro sound, but I definitely think when you step back and listen to it, it's more modern than anything. When I listen to our recordings I don't really hear... Like, when you listen to St. Phillip's Escalator, that's very prominent. It's like, "Yeah, that's from 1968."

So what are people saying about you guys?

I think every night is different for us and the vibe we put out and we'll get, "Oh, you guys sound like old ‘Beggars Banquet' Rolling Stones."

What's the weirdest comparison you've gotten?

Yes. I really don't know anything about Yes, other than my father's old record covers lying around and what's on the radio. I know it's progressive and we do have some progressive parts. You know, it really doesn't matter to me as long as people are liking what they hear. And I really think the music itself is really just an engine for what the song is.

How do you build this engine?

It's very democratic. I'll write lyrics and chords and bring it to the group, and Harold does the same on keys. Everyone in the group is very good at writing music. The hardest thing is deciding what we're going to work on. Like I said, there are five good musicians working together and nobody is really taking a back seat. The hardest thing is deciding what we're going to work on. There are always 10 different angles we could approach.

So you're never at loss for material?

If we have a loss of material it's because we're overwhelmed with all the different ideas floating around the room.

How has the band progressed?

It's definitely become more universal. Our first CD we were really inspired by bands like our friends Handsome Jack - that real kick-in-the-teeth rock 'n' roll, that inevitable animal groove you just gotta go for. Since that point we've learned you've got to be a little more universal.

You want to hit the road harder with this?

No, we don't. We actually quite enjoy our home lives. I think of The Found more as The Band. We're really content with what we're doing. We're not looking to branch out. I mean, we'd all love to be musicians for a living, but we're pretty aware of what it actually takes to do that.

But there are thousands of people out there that don't know about you.

Yeah, that's true. But there are thousands of people that don't know who The Found are who live in Buffalo and in Rochester, just the whole western New York area, you know? We have lots of places to play between Rochester, Buffalo, Ithaca, and Oswego. And every time we go back it's a whole new crowd.

The Found plays with Velvet Elvis Saturday, January 30, 9 p.m. at the Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Ave. $5-$7. 454-2966. Myspace.com/thefoundsound.