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By CHRIS ROBINETTE
Traveler Correspondent

Dr. G and the Funky Recovery, a Seattle rock band led by former Arkansas City resident, Evan Gackstatter, has found itself one step closer to fame.

The group has moved into the top-10 round in an online contest sponsored by Fame Cast Entertainment that featured thousands of bands, Gackstatter said. Dr. G and the Funky Recovery is now in the voting round for the top five. Bands that are voted into the top five are flown to Austin, Texas, by Fame Cast for a battle-of-the-bands contest. The winner of the contest receives $10,000 and a record deal.

Dr. G and the Funky Recovery entered the contest in November 2007. All contestants began in the open round, and then advanced in ranking depending on the number of votes their music videos received. Fame Cast shot music videos for two songs by Dr. G and the Funky Recovery. When the band reached the top 10 ranking, they were required to shoot their own music videos to move on to the top-five round.

Gackstatter collaborated with directors Michael Acquino and Taylor Maxwell to produce the videos. Acquino and Maxwell edited, directed and acted in the videos. Gackstatter called the videos "complete, brilliant and ground breaking," adding that they were created with "extremely limited resources."

On March 3, the videos for Dr. G and the Funky Recovery's songs, "Airplanes and Serial Killers" and "Phunky Disaster," advanced to the top 10 round in the rock and pop categories, respectively.

People who want to vote may do so at: www.famecast.com and click on "register," above the menu bar. Follow the directions to register an account to vote. Those interested in voting for Dr. G and the Funky Recovery may go to: www.famecast.com/drgandthefunkyrecovery.