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author WORKSPACE
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Warren Kinsella
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Like the punk-rock bands that
influenced his teenage view
of the world (and still do), Canada's most notorious
political strategist does his best work in the basement.
by Craig Pyette
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1. Joe Strummer autograph
In place of honour is the autograph Kinsella collected
when he found himself a wide-eyed seventeen-year-old
at Vancouver's PNE hanging out with The Clash. "Strummer
ripped out the page from my notebook and wrote, 'Well
I love you baby but I must be rhythm bound,' a classic
Carl Perkins lyric." To its left is the famous Penny
Smith photograph (from the London Calling album
cover) with bandmate Paul Simonon's autograph, collected
that same night.
2. www.warrenkinsella.com
Kinsella muses on culture, media and
politics on his popular blog, which began as a means to rebut neo-Nazi
outcry against his book Web of Hate. "It looked like a
fourteenth-century woodcut five years ago." He credits his brother
Lorne, a web designer, with the improvement.
3. Fender Mustang bass
"I have little hands so I bought this
short-scale bass. It's four inches shorter than your average bass
guitar."
4. Sheena
Warren's very pleasant thirteen-year-old border collie is
named after the Ramones classic, "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker."
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5. Photo with his father
The 1990 Liberal leadership convention in Calgary was
a chance for Dr. Kinsella to see his son in action (and
serve as official physician to the Chrétien team)
— fortunately, it turned out, as the twenty-nine-year-old
is seen here nursing a sore knee after being hit by
a cab. "His first and only patient that week was his
own son." Warren dedicated Fury's Hour
to his father, T. Douglas Kinsella, who died in 2004.
6. Knee brace
"We were playing 'Roadrunner' at band practice, the
greatest two-chord song of all time." The other knee this time.
7. Election Pin
Kinsella ran for the federal Liberals in North
Vancouver in 1997. His last remaining campaign poster catches grease
beneath his beloved '74 Super Beetle. (He didn't win.)
8. Turntable
$200 from Restoration Hardware in Ottawa. "On, Off,
Tone-that's it!" An original pressing of The Clash's
"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" single, bought at
Vancouver's now-defunct Quintessence record shop the
same day Warren met the band, sounds tinny and sharp
on the old-school record player — in punk terms:
perfect.
9. SFH
T-shirt Shit from Hell is Warren's five-piece punk rock band.
10. Skateboard Drawing
"My five-year-old did that picture of me
skateboarding, 'cause we all have skateboards, which is, as you know,
a punk-rock function."
11. Kinsella Library
With Fury's Hour, Kinsella has written
five books, including Kicking Ass in Canadian
Politics, his primer on the rough-and-tumble
political strategy that earned him the nickname "The
Prince of Darkness" and comparisons to James Carville.
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12. Punk Library
"The largest collection of punk-rock books in . . .
this part of Toronto" includes the ultra-rare The
Boy Looked at Johnny, which authors Julie Burchill
and Tony Parsons refuse to reprint. "She's a columnist
now for the Times and he's a big-wheel writer
now too, and they hate each other."
13. Hot Nasties 7"
The Hot Nasties-Warren's teenage punk band in Calgary-released
Invasion of the Tribbles in 1980 on their own
label, Social Blemish Records. The three-song E.P. recently
sold on eBay for $300.
14. Fury's Hour cover
An early version of the Fury's Hour
book cover from his publisher. They wanted to know if
he liked it. |
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