Pete “Wyoming” Bender (born September 14, 1943; died February 15, 2014 in Berlin) was born to American parents in Alsace and spent almost his entire childhood in the US. In 1971 (“Wyoming”) and 1972 (“In Prison”), he recorded two albums for the progressive label Bacillus (distributed by Bellaphon). The sound is more elaborately orchestrated Americana reminiscent of the Beatles than Krautrock. Wyoming was pigeonholed as a “German” band.

Years later, Pete launched his solo career in Berlin with the hit “Born To Be An Indian.” Wyoming's guitarist, Rainer Marz, came from Jeronimo and then joined Atlantis and Supermax. Jörg Ermisch made a career with the folk musicians of Liederjan. Curt Cress (Doldinger's Passport, Snowball, among others) drummed on the second LP, and Georg Röber, later with Aqua, played bass.

The centerpiece here is the ten-minute, hypnotic “Indian Wardance.” Both Bacillus albums are now being released on CD for the first time as reissues. “Wyoming” and “In Prison” were produced by Peter Hauke (Omega, Nektar, Nine Days Wonder, among others); Dieter Dirks was at the controls in the studio.