PORT ANGELES — Pursue Bronkar Lee and Aaron Williams for an interview about the thing they call Collision of Rhythm, and they don’t play like other performers. They’re on tour, so they haven’t time for a phone conversation. A long email answering questions from a reporter doesn’t work either.
No, as the duo travels toward Port Angeles for their Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts concert this Sunday, Williams and Lee opted to record a five-minute conversation and send that to the Peninsula Daily News.
Collision of Rhythm, you see, is “multiple instruments — and using them in fun ways to interact with each other on stage and with the audience,” Williams begins.
“We get the audience involved to create an engaging experience for them,” adds Lee.
Drums, piano, the snap and click of tap shoes, saxophone, flute, woodwinds — Williams promised these and more will flow freely. It’s been a long wait for Collision of Rhythm, whose 2020 shows had to be canceled amid the first waves of the pandemic.
At last, the pair — who call themselves musical soul brothers — are on their way to the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave., for their show at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets, available at JFFA.org, range from $10 for youngsters age 14 and younger to $20, $30 and $40 for reserved seats in various sections. Tickets will be $5 more at the door.
Upon entry to the performing arts center, patrons 12 and older must show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken in the past 72 hours along with a government-issued photo ID. Children younger than 12 will be asked about COVID symptoms and have their temperatures checked, said Kyle LeMaire, JFFA executive director. All concert-goers older than 2 must wear masks inside the performing arts center, he added. These safety protocols are detailed on JFFA’s website while more information is available by phoning the foundation office at 360-457-5411.
Besides touring the Collision of Rhythm show, the duo has gained considerable fame on the internet. Their viral videos include Williams’ “Mario on Marimba,” which has logged more than 100 million views, and Lee’s “Beatbox Dad,” the clip of him beatboxing with his son. It has surpassed 200 million views.
As for the live, in-person concert, “it’s kid-friendly and kid-appropriate, but it’s not a ‘kids’ show,’” Lee said. “We play such a wide variety of instruments, and such a wide variety of styles, from jazz to funk to classical. We’re always paying homage, and nodding to the original composers … and multi-generational people attend our concerts.”
Whatever your age, Lee and Williams want to help you tune in to your natural rhythm.
“We have young, playful energy,” said Lee, “and we actually have chops,” all in the service of either exposing young people to the wonders of rhythm and melody, or reminding older people of their inner beat.
“No matter where you’re coming from,” he said, this music is meant to help you access real rhythm — and “carry that into your everyday life.”
________
Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladaily news.com.
