Filming “San Francisco” – 2008 – Photos
During our trip to California in 2008 – at the age of just 14 – we filmed the music videos for three songs which we would release on our “California Dreaming” EP soon after.
One of these songs was “San Francisco”. Still to this day it is one of the most watched videos on our YouTube channel with more than 2 million views! In a way it kickstarted our YouTube journey!
The videos were born during a family trip to the US on which we brought a camera and some guitars.
We explored San Francisco for just a single day and picked some spots which would make great filming locations. A friend we had made the year prior (during our first US visit) came along who could guide us through the town and recommend some beautiful locations. His name is Joel and he was incredibly helpful and instrumental in getting that entire shoot done in a single day! He also ended up “intro-ing” the video in the final cut ;-). “Let’s go jammin’!”
Fisherman’s Wharf, Lombard Street, the cable cars and of course the majestic Golden Gate Bridge … they are such iconic sights. Having learnt about them in English class only a few months prior it was so surreal visiting these places in person.
We loved the city and just let the camera rolling while we were having a great time exploring. Sometime we would get our guitars out to play through the song in different spots so we could cut that in the video, too. It worked a charm! 🙂
In the last few years, we have heard quite a lot of people mourning the decline of the city (especially in the comment section underneath this video) but in our eyes, back in 2009, it was still a beautiful and clean place with lots of interesting spots and lovely people.
Have any of you been there recently? What are your memories and stories about San Francisco?
Before we go, we have one more thing to share with you. We found the old blog post from our original website (2008) about that very day! We wrote in detail about the whole experience and in made us chuckle reading it back now, 12 years later! We uploaded a screenshot of it here. If your browser doesn’t display the image properly you can download it (click on the little arrow or right click and click “save image as”) and then view it on your computer as large as you want.
Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair …
Mona & Lisa
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I was born and raised, went to college, was married, and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, didn’t leave until I moved to Boston when I was 33. The City was always magical to me and remains so even now. I can honestly say after visiting literally every major city in the US and several overseas, including Paris, Florence, Cairo, and Seoul that San Francisco is still my favorite. Your cover of San Francisco is my favorite (and I loved the original). It’s still hard for me to believe that 14 year old girls could sing and play that well!
Please come visit again and I will meet you there and be the best tour guide you could possibly imagine!
Cool pictures. We visited San Francisco back around 2009 and absolutely loved it. I would love to go back some time.
Loved the pictures and I love your “California Dreaming” EP.
I grew up in San Francisco and still live in SF Bay Area! I was born and raised a couple of blocks from the Fairmont Hotel. Attended elementary, junior high, high school, and junior college in SF, before finishing college at Cal Poly SLO. Rode the iconic cable car for three years when going to and from high school. Because of the city’s mass transit system, I didn’t need to buy a car until after I graduated from college and started working!
Haven’t been there in quite a while. Nice to see you have your own restaurant! LOL. Such incredible pictures. I really like the gulls!
Thank you so much for sharing. I have never been there but from looking at these photos it is a must for me at some point in time. And you both seemed to have a good time and pap pa and Michelle did as well. How long was the trip? Week? 2 Weeks? Would you ever consider going back?
Beautiful pictures of my precocious favorites!
The California Dreamin EP is fantastic – the MLT harmonies were perfect even then. You’ve grown so much in confidence and musicianship with all your experiences and practice. Your inner glow is very notable and is even stronger today. Great to see Rudi and Michaela! Thanks for sharing!
I love it when you give us a look behind the scenes. It shows how much work goes into these masterpieces. And I am sure there are gazillions of hours of post production, too.
You mentioned you had been studying landmarks in school and then got to see the Golden Gate Bridge. That must have been pretty kooI. These pictures are awesome. The bridge is very impressive. Thanks for sharing them. I have never been to San Francisco, but if I ever do there will be MLT music everywhere.
I loved the snapshot of your blog from twelve years ago. Jumping back into the time machine is always fun. Your writing has developed a bit. It was cute how you explained what normal meant. “Either people find it normal, meaning they don’t mind…”
JP
It doesn’t seem to be that long ago, but my wife and I visited San Francisco in 2006 and 2007, the two years before you were there. A close friend of my wife’s lived there. We saw most of the usual sights, but I often went exploring while the ladies spent time together. San Francisco itself really isn’t that large and I was able to take a circular walk through much of the city in a single day and see a side of SF that most people don’t see (good and bad). Another day I hiked thorough the Berkeley campus and up to Grizzly Point, again mostly away from the other tourists. Your pictures bring back memories.
Wow, what an absolute joy to be able to see the photos and the back story behind your “San Francisco” cover that I’ve always adored! That article write up from 2008 was so awesome to read too! Your San Francisco is the most beautiful thing I ever heard! It looks like the tradition of filming your videos in the freezing cold started very early on! 🙂 All the photos of you both, Michaela and Rudolf, and the city scenes are just beautiful and wonderful. It will always be a beautiful city to me no matter how it changes over time.
The last time I visited San Francisco was back in the fall of 2017, we had a 2 night port of call on our 10 days round trip cruise from Vancouver down to Southern California and back, and San Francisco was my highlight. I remember listening to your San Francisco on head phones from my phone walking around Fisherman’s Wharf. The most memorable and fondest time in this city was back in 2004, the year my mom was diagnosed with dementia, it was really the last fond memory of good times I had with her and the family while she was still herself and could laugh and have carefree fun. For the longest time I couldn’t remember that day or watch videos of it without pain, but one day came across your San Francisco and man it transformed that memory from one of pain to just joy and fond memories of that day and my mom. Gave me a different perspective. The power of your music! Thank you so much for these photos and write up. Will no go and listen to your San Francisco again while enjoying these photos! 🙂
That means a lot to us and we are sure it would have meant a lot to your mum too, if she knew and understood. Thanks for sharing these pictures here, your mum looks like a lovely lady and we are so glad you could experience and enjoy San Francisco together!
Thank you so much Mona for your kind words of my mum. Seeing this post has all been very special for me, being the very first video of yours that caught my eye, the absolute beauty of it, and the fond memories it evokes for me from 2004. 🙂
Here is a view of the beautiful city from the bay. In 2017 we came in on the cruise ship early in the morning. Went up top for a pre dawn breakfast and then welcomed the city as we cruised into the city harbor as the sun rose from the east. Felt so good to be back years later, and you bet I had your San Francisco in my heart standing on the deck taking in the first views of the city.
https://youtu.be/URXJ7qxNHZg
It’s so cool that you were able to visit such an iconic place at such a young age, not to mention effectively introduce yourself musically to the world there.
I’ve never been to SF, but I had a roommate in graduate school who grew up on Lombard St. (or as he called it, “the crookedy street”), so I learned a little about life in “the city” (his term again).
He was a bit arrogant about his hometown, so I’d sometimes needle him. “Did you ever come across Tony Bennett’s heart? Do you wear flowers in your hair whenever you go home? What do you mean, you don’t like Rice-a-Roni? It’s the San Francisco treat!”
I grew up in San Jose (45 minutes to an hour) south of San Francisco. I have been there many times (Mostly for baseball games). I really enjoyed the area around Fisherman’s Wharf (Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, and just walking around). It has been awhile since I’ve been there, so when everything settles down, I may go back.
I noticed, in the pictures above, the windmills on the Altamont Pass. I worked near there for several years. That is also the area, where there is a small race track, that the Rolling Stones played and the Hell’s Angels Bikers decided to be the security at the concert.
Small world! We hope you’ll soon get a chance to visit again, please say hi from us to the city if you do 😉 At the time we had no idea we were so close to the Altamont Speedway but it makes total sense now!
Never been to California either, but the scenery is cool, etc. I did for awhile keep in touch with Scott MacKenzie through his FB page before he had sadly passed away when he had, a cool dude was he to chat with, But..No offense Scott, but MLT’s version rocks it just a tad better… I love these photos and I do recall your old 2008 website, this posting.. Wow, nice to re see it again????☮????
San Francisco and the adjoining Napa Valley are some of my favorite places in the world!! I’ve been at least 7 times. I think with all the fires, the air quality has been bad and the cost of living is outrageous. I did get robbed the last time I was there. I’m still going back. So glad you got to enjoy beautiful California
I have never been to california, so you are way ahead of me. Looks like a fun trip!
A friend of mine used to live in San Francisco while I was in LA, and I spent lots of time there; also when it was in much better shape. The air is different there, and it’s such a colorful city. Best Chinese food in North America, too. These shots bring back good memories; I’m still wonderstruck at how my MLT experience seems to do that so frequently.