'A good experience' at Goodstock

Goodstock Festival 2014 was held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 20 and 21 in Okanogan at Good Farms.

Okanogan band Good4U took the stage Sunday with an 11 a.m. set. Husband and wife Lonnie and Teresa Good are the event's organizers. The band played both the familiar and unfamiliar. Lonnie Good belted out the heavy bass line and Teresa Good sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar on a cover of The Beatles' "Come Together." The band also treated the audience to a yet-unreleased original song that will appear on the band's forthcoming album due out in the Spring 2015.

After Good4U, L-Bow the Clown mesmerized the kids on hand Saturday and Sunday with an extensive act that involved juggling, unicycling and fire blowing, among other things.

"I did it as a hobby for 10 years," L-Bow said. "I'm a plumber during the day, so from Monday to Friday I'm plumbing. On the weekends, I'm in clown shows. I pushed it a little more when the bad economy came through the valley. It kind of put me out of plumbing work for a little while. So, I bit the bullet and got my Jeep and put my name on it. It's kind of a moving billboard. I was getting calls for birthdays."

Soon, L-Bow had perfected his craft--and there is a lot of skill involved, from simultaneously eating and juggling apples to breathing giant flames of fire--into a full-time gig.

L-Bow said he was really pleased to have the chance to attend a festival like Goodstock.

"There's something about this land," L-Bow said. "There's a peace here. Teresa and Lonnie Good-they call it Good Farm. I think they farm people here because people pass through here and they go away with memories and they go away with a good experience."

Sunday's audience seemed to especially enjoy the performance of Tim Snider, as a good portion of the crowd flocked to his merchandise table after his performance. Snider appeared at Goodstock last year with his friend Blake Noble.

"I came to the show and we had such a great time," Snider said. "The Goods decided to bring me back. They're just amazing people and it's such a good vibe. It's my kind of place."

Snider, who resides in Portland, Ore., played solo at this year's festival. He doesn't wish to be defined by it, but one thing audiences seem to really enjoy is the fact that Snider creates a wall of sounds with loop pedals, making an especially entertaining live performance. Snider, who doesn't use the loop pedal on all of his songs, singing and playing stripped-down acoustic guitar like many other musicians, said he first began using loop pedals as a matter of convenience.

"I did a solo record where I played all the instruments on the record and afterward, I wasn't sure how I was going to pull it off live," Snider said.

"I saw a friend of mine-a bass player-he did looping and he let me borrow his one time and it just was a perfect, natural fit. As soon as I picked the looper up, I was like 'Oh, this is perfect. I can get my ideas out as a composer and in a way that's efficient' and it just made sense."

Goodstock is one of the largest family-friendly music festivals in the area.