In the 80’s, the New York Lower East Side was not the gentrified, soulless place that it has become. Back in the day, it was full of dirty punks, weirdo artists, families and junkies. I remember getting into loads of bands from the city like Kraut, Cause For Alarm and Nihilistics, but by far my favorite was Reagan Youth. I saw them when they performed at the Olympic, but it was their Cathy de Grande gig that really had me saying, shit, this band it pretty gnarly! When Reagan Youth would break into their Black Sabbath covers, a room full of punks would turn into a bunch of metal heads. Their lead singer, Dave Insurgent, had this special quality about him that drew people in. I could never put my finger on it, but always seemed like he was tuned into another realm of reality. I was very sad when I found out he was hooked on junk, and then worse when I heard he took his own life. I like to remember him by his smile and the fact that he was willing to give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Today CVLT Nation salutes Reagan’s Youth with a video essay featuring the Olympic performance which I was on hand to witness. Respect due to all of the New York punks from back in the day!
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