Taking their name from a Western pulp magazine published in the 1930s, the genre-hopping swing band Ranch Romance formed in the late '80s. In the Seattle-based group's initial incarnation, Ranch Romance was an all-female quartet featuring singer/guitarist Jo Miller, bassist Nancy Katz, fiddler Barbara Lamb, and mandolinist Lisa Theo; in 1989, they issued their debut LP, Western Dream. After touring in support of k.d. lang, Theo left the band in 1991 and was replaced by accordionist Nova Karina Devonie and David Keenen on guitar, mandolin, and banjo. Lamb departed to attempt a solo career prior to the release of the second Ranch Romance effort, Blue Blazes; Flip City followed in 1993. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
