WELCOME

4 years without beating the drum is far too long for Ron, Dod and Harlem to go without beating something!?!

With the last competition being held 4 years ago, the stakes are high, Ron, Dod and Harlem need to come up with something fresh, something real, something that will shake the nation…

We're still wondering what that will be???

SIGHTINGS

Whist on the way to the shop to get some alterations done to their triple j banner, Ron and Dod spot a cherry picker parked on the side of a main hwy.. Cautiously approaching 3 workers who appear to be on break (commonly known as a smoko), Ron and Dod strike up a deal which both parties accept....

Handing his last $30 to the guy behind the counter at the bottleo Dod wonders how he will live for the next week…?

With an exchange of booze for banner going down, the workers agree to hang Ron and Dods drum off their cherry picker til they finish their job...

On ya lads…

Cruising down the main street of Southport Ron and Dod's attention is drawn towards two sexy women filling up parking meters. After bribing them with a promise of 2 round the world tickets the maids are more than happy to beat the drum for triple j…

Brisbane CBD on a beautiful Saturday morning - Ron, Dod and Harlem decide to beat the drum from a level in Queen St mall. After a few hours under the publics watchful eye, security finally "crack the case" wide open...Ron, Dod and Harlem get a taste of the high life as they are privately escorted from the complex.

Whilst travelling along the Pacific Hwy (M1), Ron Dod and Harlem realise the potential of the motorway for a "beat the drum" opportunity. Hanging the drum from a nearby overpass Ron, Dod and Harlem's work is done for another day as thousands of happy motorists "beep" the drum for triple j....

Nothing better than a bit of good old fashioned rivalry!!! Ron and Harlem get a cheeky snapshot as they beat the drum on Hot Tomato's shiny red fire engine parked outside of their main office...cheers fellas!

Ron, Dod and Harlem don't usually see the morning, although a 6am lift off in hot air balloon soon changed that….what better way than to start the day by beating the drum along the beautiful gold coast skyline….up up and a- JJJ !

With a B105.3fm promo going down just outside Brisbane, Ron, Dod and Harlem decide to beat the drum for some "in your face action". Our good "mate" AGRO was kind enough to take some time out to beat the drum for triple j. (Jamie Dunn from B105 morning crew had “nothing to do with this…”)

With the weekend landing, Ron, Dod and Harlem decide to make a mission up north to beat the drum on the beautiful Sunshine coast. With an unwelcome response from the gate staff at Steve Irwin's Australian Zoo, followed up by several poor attempts to break in to the rear exit of the gift shop, Ron, Dod and Harlem settle with beating the drum to the bus loads of toursists and passing motorists …where is the REAL crocodile hunter when you need him?!!

A Big Pineapple with a Big Drum sound like something that would only happen in Ron, Dod and Harlem's dreams...with Ron disguising the banner as “camping equipment” on entry, this dream was about to come true. Within a matter of minutes, visitors, tourists and passers by were able to experience this oversized combination…together at last!

With a Big Brother “commercialised crap” promo going down at the local shopping mall, Ron and Dod realise the potential for a beat the drum opportunity. As the housemates begin answering questions from the audience, their celebrity status is short lived as the crowds attention is diverted towards the lift (positioned behind the stage) with a large triple j drum pressed against the glass window. Ron and Dod manage to steal the show from the wannabe celebrities as they beat the drum for triple j to the crowd below. Get that in to ya Big Brother…ya dickhead!

With the competition heating up Ron, Dod and Harlem needed to pull something big out of the bag. Making their way to "Balloon World" and a large office supplies store, Ron and Dod walk out with a package including 50 x red & white balloons, 1 x tank of helium gas, 6 x sheets of carboard, 2 x tubes white paint.

Reaching their destination Ron and Dod begin filling their balloons in a near by car park. With the car filling quickly the windows put up to trap the balloons inside. Both Ron and Dod's core body temperatures begin to warm on a hot Gold Coast day.

After what seems like an eternity in the car, Ron and Dod head to the underground carpark to test their new toys. Realising they don't have enough pull to lift either banners a sacrifice is made in order to allow one drum to fly.

With the mission back on track, Ron and Dod make their way to the Food Court to beat the drum - celebrations style. Too quick on the trigger Dod releases the balloons too early watching them fly to the upper level of the roof. Turning a few heads, but nothing to write home about both Ron and Dod are devastated with where the balloons have landed.

Remembering the remaining bottle of helium left in the car Ron and Dod head to Coles to purchase a pack of assorted party balloons in hope of lifting the sacrificed banner. Whilst sitting back in the hot car filling balloons again, Dod wishes some luck would swing his way. Having filled another 25 balloons, the banner was still too weighty. Desperate for some airborne action Ron throws the banner from the 2 nd level of the shopping centre. With a slight hover and glimpse of hope Ron and Dod watch on as their balloons land in a coffee shop below. Unsure of what is going on, a waitress removes the banner from the shop tying it to a hand rail nearby.

Spotting some kid in the crowd with a red helium balloon, Ron and Dod approach the child with a keen interest. After asking the kids parents where they got the balloon from, Ron and Dod depart quickly making their way to “KIDS CENTRAL”. After trying to purchase 10 balloons and being told they are not for sale (as they are give aways for the children) Ron and Dod begin to blatently lie to the manager of the store. Meeting her half way on a deal Ron and Dod make their way back to the banner with 5 more balloons for a final attempt.

Tying the balloons to the banner Ron and Dod are able to get enough pull for lift off. Heading back to the food court – Ron and Dod don't make the same mistake the second time round watching the balloons soar high for triple j.

Whilst cruising home from a beat the drum mission Ron and Dod spot several piles of rubbish positioned outside residental properties throughout the Gold Coast. Realising the council is holding an annual “junk drop”, Ron and Dod decide to put the saying: “one persons junk is another persons treasure” in to practice collecting two televisions and a washing machine on their way home.

Buying 4 cans of red spray paint the next day, Ron and Dod pull out some of their old school graffiti art, decorating the unwanted appliances with triple j drums. Trying to be discreet and inconspicious about placing their newly painted appliances in central locations around the coast, Ron and Dod set their alarms for 1am on a Saturday morning to beat the drum for triple j. After unloading their newly painted washing machine on Smith St, Ron and Dod make their way down the Gold Coast Hwy to Broadbeach to off load their first television. Pulling up to a vacant block Ron and Dod are greeted by a paddy wagon on its Saturday morning round….With an inquistive constable enquiring what is going on, Ron responds by telling them he's “beating the drum…” With a disgusted look of disapproval and some derogatory comments, Ron and Dod are able to go about their business slipping through the watchful eye of the law.

Placing their third television in Chevron Island, Ron and Dod wake early the next day to see if their newly placed appliances have been recognised by members of the the Gold Coast community.

With one television being smashed, one being stolen and the washing machine standing strong (5 days running now), Ron and Dod are slightly confused with this beat the drum mission?!

Coming up with the idea of using Wind, Water, Fire, Earth and Spirit, Ron, Dod and Harlem decide to beat the drum using the 5 basic elements of life.

With a purchase of 370kg of pool salt and 20 bottles of red food dye, Ron, Dod and Harlem make their way to Surfers Paradise before first light to start working on a 50 x 40 m drum positioned in front of the high rises along main beach.

After reversing his car into a pole, Dod is finally able to get his shit together and join Ron and Harlem taking the bags of salt down to the beach. Forgetting to pack the rubber gloves, Ron, Dod and Harlem soon realise the pain they must endure for triple j's beat the drum as they mix the salt with dye in their “undersized” buckets.

With 2 hours passing, Ron, Dod and Harlem finally complete their drum. Realising they need a photo of their efforts for evidence they try breaking into several apartment buildings not having much luck. Eventually they are lucky enough to spot a very nice lady on her balcony admiring their work. Screaming from below, Ron is able to convince the lady to take a picture from her apartment. Looking at the photo, Ron, Dod and Harlem realise how dull their drum really looks.

With a trip to the supermarket being made and a purchase of 3 spray bottles and another 12 bottles of red food dye Ron, Dod and Harlem make their way back to the beach.

Back at work on the beach, Ron, Dod and Harlem are distracted with a family video taping them from a balcony near by. Not to miss this golden opportunity for a pic, Dod asks the family if they would be kind enough to let him get a photo from their apartment. With no more dye left, Ron, Dod and Harlem are invited into a family breakfast to take some quick snaps.

With the job complete Ron, Dod and Harlem decide to relax for a few hours before making their way back to another highrise to get another snap. On arrival back to the beach, Ron, Dod and Harlem look out to see their hard work being run over by a man on a tractor!

After a discussion / argument of whether the drum should be left to die with dignity, Ron and Dod convince Harlem to make another trip to the supermarket for more food dye. With no red dye in stock, an improvisation is made with a mix of cochline, rose pink, blue dye.

Making their way back the beach to attempt to brighten the remains of the plowed drum Ron, Dod and Harlem wonder what else will go wrong before the day is out. With a nice dark mix underway, all 3 spary bottles start to block up. Ron makes yet another trip back to the supermarket whilst Dod and Harlem wait at the beach, wrecked from a hard days work.

on returns with new bottles to finish the job and finally the drum is complete. Everyone is thankful that this entry is over!

Thinking they need to include a water entry in their Beat the Drum campaign, Ron, Dod and Harlem decided to make a trip to the $2 shop to purchase some floatation pool toys (aka noodles). Walking out of the shop with arms filled with noodles, Ron receives several confused looks from passers by.

ith an idea to make a floating drum out of the noodles, Ron, Dod and Harlem make a quick stop at the hardware store before arriving at their final destination – the Sundale Bridge (the main bridge connecting Southport to Surfers on the Gold Coast Hwy). Fashioning up a grubby drum using wire coat hangers and a roll of packaging tape, Ron, Dod and Harlem soon have a vessel that any sailor would be proud of. With a strong wind blowing south easterly Ron and Dod make their way to the top of the bridge with great difficulty trying to keep their floating drum in one piece…upon reaching the middle of the bridge, Ron and Dod begin to experience extreme problems. With the drum catching on a road safety rail and tearing a corner apart dreams are shattered in a matter of seconds as Ron and Dod watch their simple sticky taped structure crumble in mid air…distressed and upset with what has happened, Ron, Dod and Harlem helplessly watch on as their drum sails off to sea…arrrggghh matey!

With the end of the competition closing in, Ron and Dod make a trip to Gold Coast Helicopter tours in hope of beating the drum from a helicopter.

Arriving at the complex, Ron and Dod received a warm welcome from Scotty (Head Pilot) and Brad (Skydive instructor) as they present their home made triple j banner to them. Asking whether it would be possible to fly it from one of their helicopters, Scotty explains how a proper “F 1-11” aircraft banner is needed for safety reasons. After several dirty jokes about the glue stains on the banner being something else, Scotty suggests he takes the banner up for a skydive in 10 minutes time. With the banner being battered and bruised from the beatings in the previous weeks of the competition, Ron and Dod comtemplate what they are risking by letting the lads take it up. A small tear at the bottom of the banner causes major concerns on Ron and Dod's behalf. Both Scotty and Brad explain the high risk involved with jumping out with it at 10,000 ft. After several minutes of arguing and bickering about what they should do, Ron and Dod decide to sacrifice their much loved banner in hope of a winning shot…

Driving to Seaworld's carpark to meet Brad and Scotty, Ron and Dod spot two pieces of red material in the sky, slowly floating towards the ground….the realisation of what has happen soon becomes apparent and Ron and Dod lower their heads and take a minute silence in memory of their beloved banner.

Making their way back to the heli-pad, Ron and Dod review the footage of the lads beating the drum 10,000ft in the air. Seeing the comical side of their banner being ripped in half by a severe gravitational pull, Ron and Dod make their way to the fabric shop in town to purchase another 3 x 3 metres of red material to make a 2nd banner for the competition….Thanks to the boys at Gold Coast Helicopter Tours….you guys rock!

Making their way down to Burleigh Heads lookout on a Sunday afternoon, Ron and Dod take some time out to reflect on the their efforts over the past couple of months throughout the competition before making their way to the beach with 100 packets of jiffy firelighters and 3 jerry cans of unleaded petrol.

After receiving a keen interest from the locals and passers by, Ron and Dod soon have a crowd gathering at the top of the look out to find out what they are up to. With the sun setting on the horizon Ron opens his packet of “cheap” BBQ lighters and throws them down to ignite their drum. With only one metre of the drum lighting up, Ron frantically scrambles around the drum trying to light it up before the petrol completely absorbs in to the sand. With Ron's BBQ matches quickly crumbling in his hands as he tries to light the rest of the drum with not much success.

Not thinking to bring a back up box of back up matches or lighter, Ron and Dod look on as their triple j drum of fire slowly burns away in segmented sections. Encouraging words from locals and on lookers doesn't numb the pain that both Ron and Dod are experiencing from this failed effort.

Having to “take two” on nearly every entry throughout the competition, Ron heads off the a nearby servo to purchase another 4 jerry cans of unleaded petrol and 6 boxes of matches.

Determined to get it right the second time round, Ron adds more fuel to the drum watching it ignite in style the second time round.

Trying to get some media coverage before the closing days of the competition, Ron, Dod and Harlem receive a tip-off that there is an anti John Howard protest going down on the Sunday before the closing date of the competition.

Gearing up in their ridiculous get up which they purchased from vinnies early in the week, Ron, Dod and Harlem make their way to Roma St Forum in Brisbane to meet with the rest of the rally. Sticking out like sore thumbs, Ron, Dod and Harlem start getting into the spirit of beating the drum holding their VOTE 1 triple j signs up to passing motorists. With the protestors gathering together to start the march, some hardcore activist tells Ron and Dod to get to the back of the march believing their triple j banners are not worthy of being at the front of the march. After a misleading fact regarding John Howard plans to cut triple j funding by 15% next year, Ron and Dod are able to secure front row spots as the march begins...

- Scotty, Brad and Wayne from Gold Coast Helitours

- Sarah and Muz