In Tony’s ideal world, mix up a few tunes, a few stories, a few old friends, and a whole bunch of new ones with a magic ride on the ocean and it’s all the best kind.
Growing up and living in rural Newfoundland in the last half of the twentieth century provided ample opportunity to learn the value of an enriched culture to help deal with challenging socioeconomic, technological, environmental, and political times. The forced resettlement program, the curious (if not questionable) entry of Newfoundland and Labrador into the Dominion of Canada, and the series of events leading up to, and following, the 1992 cod moratorium provided a rich educational up-bringing to anyone with a sense of observation and curiosity. However, it was not until Tony’s university years that he began to profoundly understand the cultural oasis he had grown up in. Since those days he has soaked up and cherished everything unique to Newfoundland and takes utter delight in sharing his learnings and observations with others, especially come from aways.
Tony believes that hardship fosters rich music cultures, and his province has been a direct beneficiary. Newfoundland and Labrador celebrated 500 years of European settlement and influence in 1997 and he wrote a thematic album, 500 Years, designed to illuminate what we have to show for that half millennium. Another international celebration took place in the province in the year 2000 to focus on the only authenticated Norse settlement in North America. Tony wrote and recorded a second album of songs, Viking Trails, to focus on the Norse experience in L’Anse aux Meadows as well as the status of his homeland after eight years of cod moratorium.
By March 19, 2003, he was ready to begin a third thematic album about Confederation with Canada. Invited to perform at a demonstration that day against the pending invasion of Iraq, he wrote a song called Broken for the performance. Disturbed by the unfortunate chain of events which followed, he wrote and recorded his third thematic album, Rubicon; a social justice project aimed at exposing the dangers and human suffering resulting from western military aggression. Although his Rubicon project has little direct connection to his homeland, Tony recognizes it as a good example to illustrate Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a sense of global understanding and humanitarian duty.