David Peel and The Occuponics at Occupy Wall Street, December 7, 2011


Veteran NYC street performer David Peel (often referred to as “The Godfather of Punk” because of his major influence over the development of the NYC-based punk music movement in the late 20th Century) jams with The Occuponics on December 7th, 2011, in Liberty Square (AKA Zuccotti Park). Dave started hanging with OWS early on, and was frequently seen playing what observers called his “Atomic Cowbell” in the drum circle. Here, Dave performs his original Occupy Wall Street song, “Wall Street Sucks” with accompaniment by at least one of the Occuponics.

Occuponics: Occupy Broadway!


The Occuponics were part of a large contingent of musicians and performers at Occupy Broadway, one of the first of many pop-up occupations that occurred in New York City during the winter of 2011-2012, after Zuccotti Park was raided. Conceived as an exercise in “creative resistance,” the event began at 6 PM on Friday, December 1st, and continued for the next 24 hours in a small plaza on Broadway a few blocks north of Times Square. Occupy Broadway was a great success, with no arrests or violence on the part of either demonstrators or the NYPD.

Occuponics: Candlelight Vigil at Duarte Square


The Occuponics’ Paul Stein performs the Occupy Wall Street song at Duarte Square, November 20, 2011, a few days after Occupy Wall Street’s occupation of Zuccotti Park was closed down by government officials. This protest was held in an unsuccessful attempt to convince Trinity Church to open up a vacant lot for use by the displaced occupiers. Other musicians performing at the vigil was the Rude Mechanical Orchestra.

The Occuponics Perform The Beatles’ “Revolution” at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Square) For Occupy Wall Street

The Beatles’ Revolution is performed by Stephen C. Baldwin at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Plaza) on November 8th, 2011. John Lennon’s song, like Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.,” is often misunderstood by those seeking to use this tune as fodder for an ideological grindstone. In fact, the nuanced view presented by each song is testament to the writers’ respect for the complex requirements for peaceful social change.

Stephen C. Baldwin, who was a member of the New York City-based cover band “The Meetles” before joining The Occuponics, observes that of all the Beatles songs he knows, the three that he finds most appropriate for performing at Occupy Wall Street are “Imagine,” “Revolution,” and “Come Together.”

#OccupyWallStreet – Marching To The Beat

The Occuponics perform Paul Stein’s Occupy Wall Street Song (AKA “Marching to the Beat”) at Zuccotti Park (AKA Liberty Square). This recording was made in October, 2011, several weeks before New York City Police raided the encampment, sending shock waves through the nascent social movement and transforming its members into a wandering diaspora of dissenters protesting the status quo.

#OccupyWallStreet – Marching To The Beat from Christopher Smith on Vimeo.