Doors at 7:00pm
Front Room
$8 Advance/$10 Day of Show

All ages show. Check entry requirements at http://theslowdown.com/All-Ages

Gloom Balloon is the debut solo project by Patrick Tape Fleming, the founder of the indie rock band The Poison Control Center. That band has played over 1,000 shows, released 3 critically acclaimed records, opened for Jeff Mangum, Pavement, and Of Montreal, toured with Apples In Stereo, and was named 2011 Live Act of the Year by Steven Hyden at the AV Club.

After a 13 month tour the band decided to go into hibernation. This left Tape Fleming alone in a deep depression with no artistic outlet, so he began painting. He called his first piece Gloom Balloon. This 6-foot tall painting is indicative of his emotional and mental state at the time. It was on the cusp of committing suicide that Gloom Balloon learned of the death of his musical hero, Bill Doss of The Olivia Tremor Control. In that moment, Gloom Balloon decided to live.

Translating abstract explorations on canvas into music, Gloom Balloon has created a harrowing set of unflinchingly personal songs. The music mixes classical instruments with modern electronics.

“Elliot Smith and Beck had a baby with The Monkeys and the Beatles!”

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I am Christopher the Conquered. I am a songwriter, recording artist, singer, performer, and pianist. My vision: To bring people together through story and song. To ignite within the listener a hunger for greater self-awareness. To help listeners identify true motivation for their actions and how those actions reflect their beliefs. My approach combines sincerity with satire. Every word I sing comes from a place of love.

Des Moines, Iowa’s Christopher the Conquered (Christopher Ford) has been sitting behind the keys and saying what he can say since he released his debut album I Guess That’s What We’re Dying For… in 2007.

Christopher the Conquered & His Black Gold Brass Band went on to tour the country with Leslie & the LY’s and play hundreds of shows, along with recording a couple of Daytrotter sessions. All that culminated in 2012’s The Fate of a Good Man, Christopher’s most sincere effort by far.

Now, Ford is back to where he started to share his songs in their purest form, the way they were written: one voice and eighty-eight keys. And his efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. His solo sets have impacted thousands of people with their intimacy and grace: The Lincoln Journal-Star noted his as the best performance at Lincoln Calling Fest 2012.

Christopher the Conquered also continues to perform regularly with a rhythm section and various arrangements of His Black Gold Brass Band, in addition to solo piano shows. He has toured the United States of America 4 times since 2010 and abroad in Italy, Ireland, and Canada.