Dave Rubinstein
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| David Rubinstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1964 |
| Origin | Forest Hills, Queens, New York, USA |
| Died | July 3, 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Punk Hardcore Punk |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1980–1990 |
| Associated acts | Reagan Youth |
| Website | [1] |
David Rubinstein (born 1964, died July 3, 1993) was an American musician, the co-founder of the influential New York-based punk rock group Reagan Youth. He founded the group with guitarist Paul Bakija when both were in Forest Hills High School in Forest Hills, Queens. While they were still in high school, the band played the punk clubs of Manhattan. Jack DePalma, a physics teacher from Forest Hills High School, became a roadie for the band (De Palma had his head shaved at a gig at CBGB's and as a result was not rehired by the school administration at Forest Hills).
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[edit] Reagan Youth
As the members went to Forest Hills High School, Reagan Youth was performing regularly at CBGB's and an established band on the country's budding punk rock scene. They never, ever recorded a single, just an album that got cut down into an E.P. They toured cross-country twice, in 84 and 87, performing with all of the great 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 only seven song E.P. and never signed a contract. When Reagan Youth showed up in San Francisco in 1987, a hand-written contract on the back of a poster for a gig was signed. That E.P. sold over forty thousand (40,000) copies. The band also appeared on several compilations albums, including Live at CBGB's. They were a mainstay at CBGB's Sunday 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."
[edit] Break up
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.
[edit] Personal problems and suicide
By this time as well, David had developed a serious heroin addiction. 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 Bresciani, a prostitute who worked on Houston Street. David had told his parents that she was a dancer. Tiffany, a native of Metairie, Louisiana, 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 car accident.
On June 24, 1993, David and Tiffany were waiting on Allen Street when a familiar customer pulled up in a Mazda 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 June 28, New York state troopers Sean Ruane and Deborah Spaargaren were patrolling Long Island's Southern State Parkway when they pulled over the truck and found Tiffany's body in the back after a high speed chase. They arrested the driver, Joel Rifkin, one of Long Island's most famous serial killers, 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. Less than a week later, Rubenstein committed suicide by heroin overdose on July 3, 1993.
