The SunBreak » Mark Rushing

Blowing Away the Cloud

Mark Rushing — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:16:14 +0000

Yet strangely, a trend seems to be moving us back toward the centralized control of information processing, glitteringly re-branded as some amorphous "cloud." The reality is, this cloud is really just a collection of CPUs and storage devices, very much the same as any latter-day mainframe. In essence, the big Old Iron has returned, and we're eagerly handing our data processing capabilities right over to it. And it's not even our mainframe any more. It's someone else's.

Social D, Lucero and Chuck Ragan Summon the American Spirit at Showbox SoDo (VIDEO)

Mark Rushing — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:39:00 +0000

On Sunday night, a trio of modern day Bruce Springsteens finished up a three day stand at Showbox SoDo. The gravel voiced, working class heroes sang to us of the hard times on that rainy evening. Each singer bared their soul to a slightly soaked but appreciative crowd. Upon arriving, we were greeted with a line of old punks dressed in black waiting to be patted down by a cadre of gruff security guards. I haven’t been patted down for a show in quite some time, so I was expecting mayhem during the headliner’s set. However, the Sunday night crowd [...]

The Get Up Kids Share Their Midlife Crisis at Neumo’s (VIDEO)

Mark Rushing — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:30:00 +0000

After having read the Wikipedia entry for midlife crisis, I think The Get Up Kids might be right in the middle of theirs. They have a “desire to achieve a feeling of youthfulness,” might have a “sense of remorse for goals not accomplished,” and exhibit “a fear of humiliation amongst more successful colleagues.” However, they haven’t bought a sportscar yet, so their latest tour might just be a reconstruction of their core ideals and not a midlife crisis after all. Their new songs are clearly an attempt to reach out to a new, younger audience–though that younger audience was relegated to [...]

The Get Up Kids Try to Redeem Emo at Neumos this Wednesday

Mark Rushing — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:00:00 +0000

The Get Up Kids will be at Neumo‘s on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. Doors are at 7 p.m., tickets are available for $21 in advance, and the show is all ages. The Get Up Kids aren’t really kids anymore. Emo wasn’t always the maligned subgenre of punk that it is today. In the mid ’80s, East Coast hardcore punk bands begin to tire of being angry all the time. In fact, they started to feel downright sad about it. Bands like Rites of Spring and Embrace had people crying at their shows and musicians were realizing their music could have a [...]

“Couch Fest” Film Festival Visits Capitol Hill on Sunday

Mark Rushing — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:00:00 +0000

The best short film festival in the city is happening tomorrow. I went last year and it was awesome. Here’s how it goes: You show up at a stranger’s house and watch an hour or so of short films with a bunch of strangers sitting a bit too close to you on couches in various states of disrepair. Then, you go to another house and do the same thing. At the end, you vote for your favorites. That simple process is Seattle’s own Couch Fest. The final details for the 2010 Couch Fest short film festival have just been released. [...]

“Secret” Jansport Bonfire Show This Saturday with The Cave Singers

Mark Rushing — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:47:00 +0000

Last weekend I went to two birthday parties. Both sets of party-goers eventually found a ring of stones, filled it with wood, and set the wood on fire. A party is just not complete unless something is on fire, I guess. Jansport, the backpack folks, are sponsoring a show this Saturday, August 28th, that will undoubtedly be quite a party, since they are planning a fire and free stuff is involved. This party will feature local indie/hillbilly sensation The Cave Singers and the 100 people that can correctly find the secret location where the bus will pick them up. Tickets [...]

In Which Bon Jovi’s The Circle Tour Starts at Key Arena

Mark Rushing — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:01:00 +0000

I think I heard somewhere that good writing usually divulges some dark, personal secrets. I can’t claim to be a good writer, but here are two secrets I shouldn’t tell anyone. 1. In 4th or 5th grade, my mom walked in on my friend Mike and me. We were in front of the mirrors in the living room, playing air guitar and singing. The tape playing was Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. 2. I like Dashboard Confessional. There, I said it. Now that these horrible secrets are out in the open, we can have an honest conversation about what happened [...]

Don’s Top Five Punk & Rock Shows of 2009

Mark Rushing — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

My New Year’s resolution was to see 50 shows in 2009. I thought this was reasonable for a person with a job that requires me to get up at 6 a.m. Yet, like most people, I did not fulfill my New Year’s resolution. I got 39 nights of rock and roll in with 122 bands. Not too shabby, but I’ll try to do better in 2010. My five favorites are recounted for you below. #5. Classics of Love, Mike Park, Dateless, The Damage Done – The Grn Strp House – 3/14/09 As someone who discovered punk rock in the early nineties, it [...]