Valley Weekend : FRIDAY

A REAL MOUTHFUL OF SOUND

So you want to hear something different. How about a harmonica concert?

This weekend Valley residents have a chance to hear the mouth organ in the hands, er, mouths, of some virtuosos.

The New World Harmonica Trio will perform in concert Friday night in North Hollywood. The ensemble performs an eclectic repertoire that includes country, jazz and pop tunes. The trio--Ron Kalina, Danny Wilson and Mike Burton--collectively has more than 75 years of experience.

* The New World Harmonica Trio performs at 8 p.m. Friday at the North Hollywood Church of Religious Science, 6161 Whitsett Ave. Tickets are $10 general, $5 children younger than 12. Call (818) 762-7566.

SATURDAY

PEACE & LOVE

In the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it will be “ deja vu all over again” Saturday night in Glendale when the city concludes its summer street party series with a musical re-creation of the Summer of Love--1967. Featured will be Robby Krieger, former lead guitarist-songwriter of the Doors, plus the bands Spirit, Big Brother and the Holding Company and The Strawberry Alarm Clock.

While Steve Appleford was talking to the Doors’ Krieger, this reporter was interviewing Ed Cassidy, the drummer of Spirit.

Spirit was a critically acclaimed L.A.-based band in the late ‘60s to early ‘70s. Although the group was known mostly for its albums, including 1970’s “The 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus,” Spirit did have one hit single, “I Got a Line on You.” On its debut album in 1968, the group’s most visible members were 17-year-old lead guitarist Randy California and bare-headed, 35-plus-year-old drummer Ed Cassidy. Both will be in Glendale on Saturday.

Cassidy now claims to be 72 years old. However, the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock lists his birth year as 1931, which would make him 64. Cassidy says he has no idea how the Rolling Stone publication got the wrong year, but he was born in 1923. Either way, Cassidy is probably the oldest performing rock drummer in the world today.

Besides maintaining a rigorous health regimen that includes vitamins and exercise, Cassidy thinks it’s his music that keeps him young. “We’ve all be given a gift, but most don’t take advantage of the gift,” he says. “It keeps you young and gets your juices flowing.”

Big Brother and the Holding Company, with lead singer Janis Joplin, burst upon the national music scene at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Before Joplin left the group at the end of 1968, the band released its “Cheap Thrills” album, featuring such blues-rock classics as “Ball and Chain” and “Piece of My Heart.” Several original members of the band plus lead vocalist Michelle Bastain will perform Saturday.

The Strawberry Alarm Clock, whose “Incense and Peppermints” was a No. 1 hit in 1967 and who captured the era’s essence of flower-power and psychedelia, will open the show.

* Glendale Rocks! takes place from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday on Brand Boulevard between Broadway and Lexington Avenue. Outdoor concert. Free. Call (818) 548-4844.

SUNDAY

GIDDY-YAP

Good news for horse-lovers. The Los Angeles Western Riding Club Horse Show on Sunday at the Equestrian Center in Burbank will feature riding classes and various competitions. Admission is free for spectators.

Club spokesman Bill Jacobson says there will be six English-style classes and a full Western schedule. A gymkhana, a program of timed competition events including barrel racing and pole bending, will also be staged.

* The Los Angeles Western Riding Club Horse Show takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, 480 Riverside Drive, Burbank. Free. Call (213) 660-3553.