Jackson Free Press

Before he even moved back to Jackson in December 2012, Jakob Clark, one of Jackson's music-scene veterans, already had the concept for Whitespike in his head. Right after the end of BOY, his band in Austin which included his brother, Joshua Clark, and Misha Hercules, Clark started planning his next move. "I was kind of at full speed ahead and not ready to stop," he says.

Whitespike, Clark's latest musical endeavor, has him on bass and lead vocals and a group of players from other local bands: synth-player Misha Hercules of Dead Gaze, What Made Milwaukee Famous, and Dent May's Band; guitarist Christopher Morrison of HVY YETI; and drummer Daniel Guaqueta of Buddy & the Squids.

Clark moved to Austin from Jackson in June 2007, partly to help his band at the time, Living Better Electrically, thrive. "We had trouble coming out with a record on this one record label, and we had recorded it three different times," he says. "We were sort of already breaking up, although no one said that. It was sort of like we needed one last chance. Then, after we got there, it didn't revitalize everyone. We were still just tired of it and over it. So (the band) sort of just dissipated."

Many remember Living Better Electrically as a glam band, a la David Bowie, here in Jackson. "My brother and I grew up writing songs together, and it was like another platform for our songs," Clark says about the band, which the brothers started in 1999.

Refreshed from a two-year performance hiatus, Clark started Model Planes in 2010, originally only with his brother, Joshua. "I had been performing nonstop since I was 13 years old, and I was tired of it. I did keep writing though," Clark says.

Both of the brothers sang. Clark played guitar or bass, depending on the song, while Joshua Clark played guitar on all of the songs. The duo also used a MC808 Groovebox with which they programmed synthesizers and drums. "It was just a way to quickly pick up where we left off while we figured out how we were going to round out the actual band, which became BOY," Clark says. Model Planes, a name that was short-lived, evolved into BOY when Misha Hercules stepped in as well.

Ending due to creative and personal differences, BOY was an inspiration for Clark. He moved back to Jackson and formed Whitespike. "It was fairly easy for me to find musicians to play with," he says about coming back here.

Clark, who is also a freelance graphic designer (he once worked for the Jackson Free Press), also felt that it was right to come back to Jackson to be with his extended family to help him and his wife, Kathie, take care of their son, Anderson.

This Thursday, July 18, Whitespike, performs at 8 p.m. at Hal & Mal's (200 S. Commerce St., 601-948-0888) with HVY YETI and The Leave Me Be's. Whitespike's website, whitespike.com, will be up in a few days. Meanwhile, the band's first single is up on Facebook.