Paul Stein uses his accordion, melodica, claviola, voice, & original songs to support peace, justice, & the environment. Co-founder of The Occuponics, who were active throughout Occupy Wall Street, he can be heard at marches, demonstrations, rallies, & vigils all around the New York City area, often with the Filthy Rotten System band.
Category Archives: Occuponics Occupy New York CIty
The Occuponics’ Stephen Carl Baldwin and Paul Stein perform at Liberty Square (AKA Zuccotti Park) on March 16, 2012, participating in COOLS (the Cultural Occupation of Liberty Square), a winter series of lunchtime performances and concerts whose purpose is to demonstrate that Zuccotti Park has not been abandoned and that Occupy Wall Street has not collapsed. Thanks to Robert K. Chin for making this recording. We are always glad to see Robert recording OWS, because he really know what he is doing!
This past Sunday, February 26th, Tompkins Square Park was reoccupied by Occupy Town Square, a series of “pop-up” occupations of public spaces that’s done a number of interesting “mobile occupations,” including actions at Washington Square Park and the West Park Presbyterian Church. The event included plenty of music, art, poetry, drama, crafts, and teach-ins, and The Occuponics were there. Here, Stephen C. Baldwin performs two Occuponics favorites, “I Don’t Know But I’ve Been Told/Occupy People Are Mighty Bold” and “Wall Street, Your Kingdom Must Come Down,” a song derived from an old gospel tune taught to us by Painless Parker (AKA Noam Berg). The accompanying female voice belongs to the polymath Allegra Culpepper, who has both performed at and documented the Occupy Wall Street movement for many months.
“Sixteen Tons,” a working song written by country great Merle Travis and made a hit by Tennessee Ernie Ford, is a natural candidate for performance in OWS-related events. Here, Stephen C. Baldwin and guest harmonica player Anthony perform the song at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Square) in late 2011.
Occuponics Jam With OWS Drum Circle – 1/29/12 Washington Square Park “Occupy Town Square”
The Almighty delivered splendid weather on Sunday, January 29th, 2012, when Occupy Town Square, an OWS (Occupy Wall Street) affinity group, produced a “pop-up occupation” in Washington Square Park. It was a beautiful afternoon that succeeded in re-establishing OWS as a powerful (albiet formerly dormant) force around the world.
The Occuponics continue to write and perform “on the spot,” improvisational Occupy Wall Street music and the group did its thing at The Peoples’ Stage (AKA The People Staged) and, earlier, before the valorous Daniel had gotten the People’s Stage banners up, with the splendid drum circle featured in this video, featuring Brendan Rooster Hunt, Saeed RB, John Eustor, and other members of the famous “Pulse” percussion cooperative, which gave OWS its heartbeat in late 2011.
We salute the OWS Drum Circle (AKA “Pulse”): these are valiant soldiers of rhythm who have given so much to Occupy Wall Street and have paid a price (three drummers were arrested on Saturday at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Square). We hope these artists are released from jail soon. They were playing quietly and meant no harm to anybody.
Today’s WSP (Washington Square Park) Occupy Town Square event happened without arrests and was a beautiful model for future “pop-up” occupations that combine arts, culture, teach-ins, and be-ins for the public good.
The Occuponics were glad to play in Brooklyn at the 83rd anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday on January 16, 2012. This event was part of Occupy Sunset Park (OSP), and involved a march up Fourth Avenue. You can read more about this event on the site of the Home Reporter and Sunset News.
The Occuponics perform Paul Stein’s Occupy Wall Street Song on October, 23rd, 2011, at Zuccotti Park, AKA Liberty Square. This recording was made several weeks before police raided the encampment, and one can get a good idea of how the camp looked in its prime, and sense the wonderful energy that was present in the place.
Despite the fact that many protesters continued to feel aggrieved after they were denied the right to protest by encamping at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Square), Christmas Day at Zuccotti Park was a joyous experience, and the Occuponics were on hand to provide musical support to the demonstrators.
As the evening darkened, the lights in the park glittered gaily, as protestors pondered the meaning of Christmas and were kept warm by a wonderful meal prepared by the OWS kitchen. Much of the food was donated by local restaurants, a fact that everyone was grateful for.
On Christmas Day, the Occuponics performed many songs at Zuccotti. This recording captures the band doing one of their standards, Paul Stain’s Occupy Wall Street Song.
On Friday, October 22, The Occuponics performed a long set of music at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Square), and were informed by a friend that one of their heroes, Pete Seeger, would be appearing uptown at Symphony Space and might even lead a march down to Columbus Circle to express solidarity with OWS. So although the band was very tired, they journeyed uptown and were on site when crowds began forming outside the theater where Pete was performing.
Taking advantage of the fact that a large throng of people had gathered but no music could be heard at that time, they played Paul Stein’s “The Occupy Wall Street Song” several time before a highly receptive audience. A few minutes later, people began emerging from the doors and the march began forming. This large procession of some 1,000 people began moving peacefully down Broadway, with police guiding the throng so that vehicular traffic would not be encumbered. Pete Seeger called out the songs, and our spirits were lifted when we saw the 92-year old Seeger making rapid progress towards Columbus Circle accompanied by friends, family, and musicians.
Marching with Pete Seeger was an inspiring experience for the band, and several songs performed on the march, including “This Little Light of Mine,” “Ain’t Going To Nobody Turn Us Around,” and, of course, “We Shall Overcome,” found their way into the band’s repertoire.
