First gig as Reagan Youth

David Rubinstein and Paul Bakija met in Russell Sage Junior High School and together attended Forest Hills High School , the same high school Simon and Garfunkel and the Ramones attended when they began. After rehearsals under the name Pus with a varying rhythm section, the group changed its name to Reagan Youth shortly before playing its first gig on August 22, 1980, with bassist Andy Bryan (Andy Apathy) and drummer Charlie Bonet (Charlie Tripper). Reagan Youth quickly gained a following and were soon playing the punk clubs of Manhattan . Bakija’s physics teacher at FHHS attended a Queens basement rehearsal. And he then attended a show at CBGB’s; where once he had his head shaved; he became associated with the band at times hauling Paul’s amps and equipment into the city from Queens in his Dodge Dart. After the band recorded a four-song demo in 1981, Bryan was replaced by Al Pike . Bonet departed soon after; after the band briefly rehearsed with Rubinstein filling in on drums, Steve Weissman joined full-time. They signed to the R Radical imprint.