Three years ago, Vikesh Kapoor performed at Howard Zinns memorial service in Boston, in front of Zinns family and colleagues (including Noam Chomsky). Inspired by Zinns lifelong battle against class/race injustice, Kapoor spent the next two years in Portland working on a concept record based on a related newspaper article. His debut album, The Ballad Of Willy Robbins, chronicles the brutal but hopeful story of a working class man who slowly loses everything: ambitions, health, family and shelter. The album was co-produced by Adam Selzer (M. Ward) and features Nate Query (Decemberists, Black Prairie), Jeff Ratner (Langhorne Slim) and Birger Olsen (Denver)