Singer-songwriter Brett Dennen (known for such songs as "Ain't No Reason" and "Make You Crazy") recently released his new album, See The World, which got our attention when we heard the single "Paul Newman Daytona Replica Rolex." Dennen recently sat down with us to chat about the song and his love for watches. Here's his fake watch story, as told to Danny Milton.
I am from Northern California, Central Valley ?what I call the real California. It's very farmland-y. It's where all the almonds that you eat come from. There's a lot of dairy, a lot of cattle. I've lived in California my whole life, but all over.
The bigger picture is that I've always loved replica watches from afar, but I don't collect watches. I only have two. One is a 1940s-era Hamilton that my grandfather gave me that I never wear, but I just love for sentimental reasons. He got it when he graduated college. It's gold on this very cool stretch bracelet. I will wear it someday. I just have to fix it, but it's beautiful.
Dennen's grandfather's Hamilton, pictured here, was gifted to him.
The other is my field watch. It's called a Bertucci. It's great for surfing with 200m water resistance. It's just a simple watch.
Dennen's field (and everyday) fake watch is this Bertucci, a brand based out of Chicago.
And I've always loved Replica Rolex watches. I always thought it would be cool if my dad had one and passed it on to me. That is my goal, I'm going to get a Replica Rolex someday. When I find one that I like and want to throw down the money for, it's going to be my son's and that's going to be the dream fulfilled.
I do have a fake Replica Rolex that I bought in Dubai a long time ago. A lady told me about this place called the Meena Bazaar that I knew I had to check out. She told me, "You go there to buy things, you haggle things. And then you can buy fake stuff." I picked one out, a "Submariner." I wore it all the time ?for a long time ?but then it just stopped working.
The forever cool Paul Newman, wearing a "Paul Newman" in a race-car. Photo: Getty
For my new song, "Paul Newman Daytona Replica Rolex," the inspiration came from this one time I was on the road and I was watching Antiques Roadshow late at night.
There was an episode where a man came in. He was a pilot in the '70s with a good look and a cool shirt on. He said he bought this fake watch in the '70s for a few hundred dollars when he was a pilot because it was the Daytona model and all the pilots were buying Daytona model Replica Rolex watches. I guess because of the dials ?I should rewatch the episode, but I think he said something about the dials ?he could track ground speed and things while being in the air. I think he spent no more than $300 on the watch.
The yellow gold Replica Rolex Daytona, as seen on a 2016 episode of Antiques Roadshow.
Then on the show it was appraised for a hundred thousand. I thought that was phenomenal. And then the appraiser said, "This is the Paul Newman model," And I was like, "What?" Because Paul Newman is my all-time favorite ?the style, he's a cool guy, the philanthropy, and all of it. So then I felt like a journalist or something when I watched that show. Could this be a song? How could I write a song about this?
Newman (and his Daytona), with his son Scott, who is trying to show up dad with that Chiquita tee. Photo: Getty
And then I went down this long rabbit hole of the replica watches of Paul Newman, his Daytona Replica Rolex, and what famous films he's worn them in, or the time he was wearing it when he got second place at Le Mans. Then I found an article about how he gave the one that Replica Rolex gave to him to his daughter's boyfriend, then only a couple of years ago it sold for $17 million. I was like, "Oh, that's an idea for a song, man, it just keeps coming back around."
The Paul Newman Daytona, complete with Bund Strap
Three years ago or so I started working on it. I was like, "How do you write a song about a watch?" And then, I listened to Paul Simon ?my all-time favorite singer ?and he's got that song "Kodachrome." Listening to that song I began thinking to myself, "Okay, I get it."
"Kodachrome"-era Paul Simon, mustache and all. Photo: Getty
He's talking about the thing in the chorus, but the song's not really about that thing. So what's the song about? I was like, "Well I should tell the story about how I love this fake watch for sentimental reasons and the fake watch is something that is priceless, but you can't put a price on something that's sentimental."
ADVERTISEMENTThat only got me so far because ?am I still writing a song about a watch? How do I make it interesting? I put the song down for a long time and then I had the idea ?if I write another verse to it, it shouldn't be about the fake watch at all, or Paul Newman at all.
It should just be about value ?about what's valuable. What do I want more than anything that you can't put a price on? Feeding the hungry, world peace, environmental restoration, blowing up the dams and saving our watersheds, bringing back natural habitats and wildlife.
And I thought, "That's it. That's the song ?song's done." I shared it with people I was working with. Everybody said, "What's the deal with this Replica Rolex song? This is just kind of different and left-field."
And I said, "I like it because it's left-field." It's not silly. It's earnest. I love watches, I love Paul Newman and I love the idea of what's sentimental and what's valuable.
Ever since I heard about the Paul Newman Daytona model I knew that's the fake watch I'm going to get someday. When I do buy my first real Replica Rolex, it will be a fake watch that I would wear all the time.
I wrote a song about a Replica Rolex and I want to own one. So, I'm going to get one. So what do I do? How do I choose the one I get? Do I try to find something rare and vintage, or do I just go boom, Submariner, brand new? And then it's my everyday thing. And then what's my life like? I think that's the best part. That's what draws me into it.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Brett Dennen's new album, See the World, is now available. Listen to the song below.
Lead image courtesy, Brett Dennen
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