In 1971, in Knoxville, Tennessee, Tony began playing bluegrass.

He started off as part of a four-piece band, playing in a Mexican restaurant, on Clinch Avenue. After hours and hours of frustrating practice on mandoilin and bluegrass guitar, he decided to take some lessons. So, he called up Red Rector, a famous mandolin player (in bluegrass circles, anyway), and said, "Red, I'd like to get some lessons from you." Red said OK, and I paid him for my first lesson by buying one of his albums from the trunk of his car. Tony then began playing mandolin for the Bays Mountain Boys, and area bluegrass bands, including a band led by Phyllis Boyens, who sang and toured with Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard. Tony also was a regular performer on the "Cas Walker Farm and Home Hour, " on WBIR-TV, in Knoxville, and was an accompanist for John McCutcheon. He was a featured performer with the band, "Citico Creek," at Silver Dillar City (now Dollywood)

It was about 1978 when he met and played with Phil Ledbetter, who was voted 2005 IBMA "Dobro Player of the Year." It was Phil who gave Tony the nickname of "Jarfly" - which means 'cicada' in Tennessee. To this day, Tony has no idea why Phil gave him that name, except that he said, "Well, you remind me of a jarfly."

Tony moved to Nashville in the late 1980's, where he spent almost two years pounding the streets of Music Row, pitching his original bluegrass music, and making contacts with other bluegrass players. He was also music director for Mac Pirkle's play, "When I Live to See Next Fall," a stage production based on the  music of Sy Kahn.

Tony has toured throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and presently teache, "How to sing Bluegrass" at the iconic McCabe's Guitar Shop, in Santa Monica, CA.

 He continues to write and perform his original bluegrass-edged music throughout southern California.