Complex sentence: Before Dave essentially took on the name Racecar for his music endeavors (and the copyright to the name), the name had been used by an alternative rock/jazz band out of the Mid-west.
Split into simpler sentences: Before Dave essentially took over the name and the copyright to the name Racecar for his music endeavors. Previous to that and still, the name had been/is used by an alternative rock/jazz band out of the Mid-west.