The Occuponics jam with the renowned Carlos Mandelbaum at Union Square Park, NY, playing “This Park Is Your Mark,” a slightly modified version of Woody Guthrie’s classic “This Land Is Your Land.”
One of the great joys of playing folk music is that this kind of music, by definition, is subject to modification as times change. Like the United States Constitution, folk songs are “living documents” which belong to the people and can be modified to their current needs.
The Occuponics had the rare pleasure of jamming with the polymath Carlos Mandelbaum (AKA David Intrator) on Wednesday, March 21, the fourth day of the Occupation of Union Square. Here the band performs “I Don’t Know But I’ve Been Told (Occupy People Are Mighty Bold),” an original composition by the Occuponics’ Stephen Carl Baldwin. This song has proven to be popular among the demonstrators, and is often requested when the Occuponics are on the scene.
The Occuponics jam with The OWS Sax Man at Union Square during the American Spring concert series, March 20, 2012.
Union Square became a locus of activity for Occupy Wall Street following the 6-month anniversary of OWS, which, while a joyous day, deteriorated into violence late in the evening. Many protesters came to Union Square in the following days, believing that they might be safer in a different part of Manhattan.