Outrageous Fortune

Outrageous Fortune are a Boston-based acoustic duo whose repertoire reflects their roots in vintage jazz, blues and rags. The duo features Chris Welles on guitar and lead vocals and Rod Thomas on harmonica and harmony vocals.

Chris taught himself to play finger-style guitar as a teenager by wearing grooves in his country blues records. Looking for new challenges, he studied jazz at Berklee College of Music, and learned to read music “but not enough to hurt my playing.” He was inspired by musicians like Ry Cooder and Spider John Koerner, who re-interpret roots material with funky rhythmic energy and sophistication. He performed solo in the ‘80s at New England clubs such as The Press Room in Portsmouth, and the Back Room at the Idler in Cambridge.

Rod started playing harmonica in high school stealing licks from the late Sonny Terry, and Magic Dick of the J. Geils Band. He put the “harp” down in college to sing, tour and record with the a cappella group “The Colgate Thirteen”. In the early 90s his love for the instrument was reborn and he has been playing in earnest ever since.

Rod and Chris met^* when the girlfriend they were both seeing got her Tuesdays and Thursdays mixed up (Rod was the Tuesday man and Chris was the Thursday man). After the police left, they decided to ditch the girlfriend and have been friends ever since.