
David Rubinstein was born in 1964. He formed "Reagan Youth"
with guitarist Paul Bakija when both were in high school in Rego Park,
Queens. While they were still in high school, the band played the punk
clubs of Manhattan. In fact, David's science teacher became a roadie
for the band (That high school teacher was so into the punk scene that
he shaved his head and as a result almost go fired by the school administration).
As the members graduated from high school, Reagan Youth was performing regularly at
C.B.G.B.'s and an established band on the country's budding punk rock scene. They recorded
a single, then an album. They toured cross-country many times, performing with all of the
great hard-core punk bands of that era. At the "Rock Against Racism" shows in
the early 1980s, Reagan Youth shared the bill with the Dead Kennedys, the Bad Brains, and
others.
Reagan Youth recorded its first album and signed a simple contract, hand-written on the
back of a poster for a gig. That album sold over forty thousand (40,000) copies. The band
also appeared on several compilations albums, including Live at C.B.G.B.'s. They were a
mainstay at C.B.G.B.'s Sunday afternoon hard-core matinee concerts.
Reagan Youth's music was ironic and political. They preached the gospel of "peace
punk." David was known as "Dave Insurgent." The name "Reagan
Youth" was ironic, given David's family background as holocaust survivors. The cover
of their 2nd LP featured a photo of Hitler shaking hands with an emissary of the Pope.
Their song titles included "Jesus Was A Communist" and "New Aryans."
By the late 1980s, the members of Reagan Youth were frustrated and worn out from years of
touring and drug abuse. They had never made any money in the music industry. When Ronald
Reagan left the White House, they officially disbanded. David and several other band
members continued to play music together, although their new group never achieved the same
success or momentum as Reagan Youth.
By this time as well, David had developed a serious heroin addition. He was also dealing
drugs, although he was not very shrewd at it. David had the bad habit of consuming the
drugs he was supposed to be selling. He was a loudmouth. When a supplier would ask him for
money that was owed, David would sometimes reply, "You'll get you money when I say
you get it."
In a drug deal gone bad, another drug dealer violently beat up David with a baseball bat.
He was hospitalized for weeks. When he got out, he returned to his parents' home. There,
he continued to use drugs, smoking pot in his bedroom as his parents tried to help him
recover. Eventually David left his parents' home and moved back to the lower East Side. By
now, between the violent assault and his continued drug use, he was no longer an energetic
anarchist. He had become a bit disheveled, and many of his friends from the punk scene no
longer associated with him.
David began dating Tiffany B., a prostitute who worked on Houston Street. David had told
his parents that she was a dancer. Tiffany supported the couple and their drug habit by
turning tricks. David would often hang out on the street with Tiffany, waiting while she
serviced a customer, and then going with her to score drugs.
Around this time, David's mother died in a freak car accident. One night, David and
Tiffany were waiting on Houston Street when a familiar customer pulled up in a pick-up
truck. Tiffany got in, telling David that she would return in twenty minutes. She never
came back. David called the police with a description of the truck and went to all the
hospital emergency rooms in the city searching for Tiffany. A few days later, on Long
Island, the police pulled over a truck and found Tiffany's body in the bank. They arrested
the driver, Joel Rifkin, Long Island's most famous serial killer, who was later linked to
killing numerous prostitutes.
Depressed and alone, after the unexpected losses of his girlfriend and his mother, David
headed into a downward spiral. One month later, David Rubenstein p/k/a "Dave
Insurgent" committed suicide.
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