David Rubinstein, also known as Dave Insurgent (September 5, 1964 – July 3, 1993), was an American singer and co-founder of the New York-based

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band

Reagan Youth Reagan Youth is an American anarcho-punk band formed by singer Dave Rubinstein (Dave Insurgent) and guitarist Paul Bakija (Paul Cripple) in Queens, New York City in early 1980. History Initial career (1980–1990) Rubinstein and Bakija a ...

. Rubenstein founded the band with guitarist Paul Bakija when both were in Forest Hills High School in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, ...

. The band played the punk clubs of Manhattan while the members were still in high school.

Reagan Youth

As the

members attended Forest Hills High School, the band performed regularly at

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

and other venues on the United States' budding punk rock circuit. They never recorded a single, only some self-published tapes and an album that was turned into a seven-song EP. That EP sold more than 40,000 copies. The band also appeared on several compilations albums, including ''Live at

''. They toured cross-country twice, in 1984 and 1987, sharing bills with punk bands such as

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

U.S. Chaos U.S. Chaos are an American punk rock band from Paterson, New Jersey, United States, formed in 1981 from remnants of first wave punk outfits The Radicals in 1978 and The Front Line in 1979. They are the first American band to play in an Oi!/ str ...

Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980–19 ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

and

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

. They were a mainstay at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

's Sunday matinee concerts and performed at

Rock Against Racism Rock Against Racism (RAR) was a political and cultural movement which emerged in 1976 in reaction to a rise in racist attacks on the streets of the United Kingdom and increasing support for the far-right National Front at the ballot box. Betwe ...

concerts in the early 1980s. Reagan Youth was a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

band, often using

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

and

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

imagery as political satire. In their original 1980s incarnation, they sought to address the parallels between the policies of president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, the

Christian Right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...

and American conservatives and the beliefs of

hate groups A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Accord ...

. Their

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous song, "Reagan Youth", uses a

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

rhetoric to draw parallels between

Young Republicans The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

and the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

. The fact that Rubinstein's parents were

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivors added to the urgency of the band's message. By the late 1980s, the Reagan Youth members were frustrated and worn out from years of touring, drug use and not making money in the music industry. When Reagan left office, the band officially disbanded. Rubinstein and several other band members continued to play music together, such as in the band House of God, which never achieved the same success as Reagan Youth.

Personal problems and suicide

By the time that Reagan Youth broke up, Rubinstein had developed a serious

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

and was dealing drugs. During a drug deal, another drug dealer beat up Rubinstein with a baseball bat, leaving him in a coma. While admitted at the hospital, Rubinstein received a lobotomy to relieve brain trauma and save his life. When he got out of the hospital, he returned to his parents' home. There, Rubinstein continued to use drugs, smoking

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

in his bedroom as his parents tried to help him recover. Eventually, Rubinstein left his parents' home and moved back to the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. By then, between the assault and his continued drug use, he was no longer as energetic, and had become dishevelled. Many of his friends from the punk scene no longer associated with him. Rubinstein began dating Tiffany Bresciani, a prostitute who worked on

Houston Street Houston Street ( ) is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in t ...

and danced in strip clubs around the city.Newton, Michael
"Joel David Rifkin: New York's Most Prolific Serial Killer"
. TruTV, accessed August 21, 2011 He had told his parents that she was a dancer. Bresciani financially supported the couple and their drug habit with prostitution. Rubinstein often waited for Bresciani while she serviced a customer, and then accompanied her to buy drugs.Simmonds, Jeremy
"Dave Insurgent"
''The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches'', p. 301, Chicago Review Press, 2008, accessed August 21, 2011 On June 24, 1993, Rubinstein and Bresciani were waiting on Allen Street when a familiar customer pulled up in a Mazda pickup truck. Bresciani got in, telling Rubinstein that she would return in 20 minutes. She never came back. Rubinstein called the police with a description of the truck. He went to the club where Bresciani danced, and all the hospital emergency rooms in the city, searching for her. A few days later, on June 28, two New York state troopers were patrolling Long Island's Southern State Parkway when they pulled over the truck after a low-speed chase, and found Bresciani's decaying body in the back. They arrested the driver,

Joel Rifkin Joel David Rifkin (born January 20, 1959) is an American serial killer, who was sentenced to 203 years in prison for the murders of nine women between 1989 and 1993, though it is believed he had up to 17 victims. Early life Rifkin's birth pare ...

, one of Long Island's more infamous

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

s, who was linked to the murders of numerous women. On June 30, 1993, Rubinstein's mother died in a freak accident after being run over by a vehicle driven by his father. Depressed and alone after the unexpected loss of his girlfriend and mother, Rubinstein headed into a downward spiral, and on July 3, 1993, he committed suicide by drug overdose.

References

External links

Reagan Youth page at New Red Archives site

Reagan Youth at CDBaby

Reagan Youth at LoveCatMusic

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubenstein, Dave 1964 births 1993 suicides 20th-century American singers Jewish rock musicians American punk rock singers Anarcho-punk musicians Drug-related suicides in New York (state) Jews in punk rock Jewish American musicians Lobotomised people People from Queens, New York Singers from New York City Reagan Youth members 20th-century American male singers American anti-fascists Jewish anti-fascists Forest Hills High School (New York) alumni 1993 deaths 20th-century American Jews