As Bags lives above Warrens bar, The Lions Paw, its no wonder these two mugs became fast friends. His roll in all of this, like Warren's own past, is quite remarkable.
And the following is what Phil has to say about him:
Labor Days' Warren takes his name from Warren Zevon and much of his back-story from many of Zevon's songs.
A lot of people were introduced to pop music via The Beatles or Elvis or some shit.
Not me.
For me, it was all about the headless ghost of a Norwegian mercenary, stalking the night with a Thompson gun. Or a certain excitable boy, digging up the body of his prom date and making a cage with her bones. Or a werewolf walking with the queen. For me, it was all about Warren Zevon.
Point being, when I started writing Labor Days, Warren was conceived as an elaborate reference to Zevon; as a kind of tip of the hat to one of my biggest influences. His dialogue was littered with allusions.
Well, it's years now since that first draft. The level of Zevon reference in the character has been diminished and his role in the script has undergone some pretty severe retooling.
And, of course, the actual Warren is dead now. Far before his time, if you ask me.
Labor Days' Warren is Bags' confidant, companion and bartender. He runs the Lion's Paw, the pub directly below Bags' flat. He's a large, jovial fellow.
Put a little booze in him and he'll tell you tales of lawyers, guns and money; stories of gunmen in the Congo hard at jungle work. He knows how to drink and he knows how to fight and he's hiding not just a few secrets.
Now I'm gonna go listen to some Warren Zevon. I'd recommend you do the same. It'll do us all some good.
