"One songwriter whose lyrics are never trite, but does appeal to the youth market is Mark Johnson. Johnson, a tough, wiry, punky looking fellow with a continually jaded expression which his lyrics belie, has long been recognized as someone to contend with by the music cognoscenti and artists who make up the burgeoning Bleecker Street small
club scene. Johnson is now expanding his sphere of influence to the larger venues like the rock disco Heat. Recently, Johnson opened a triple bill of
ex-Television guitarist Richard Lloyd, and ex-New York Doll and Heartbreaker Johnny Thunders. Johnson proved he could easily deliver the dynamics needed for this larger space. He set the usual array of zebra-haired, mohair-clad hard rock devotees pogoing in place with his overwhelmingly commercial catchy tunes. If he plays his cards right he could have a world of boppers singing along."

"Mark Johnson's songs have been recorded by Robert Gordon, The Roches and Paul Butterfield. His one-room apartment-recording studio on New York's Cornelia Street - where he eats, sleeps and works - is cluttered with the realities of rock 'n' roll: tape decks, speakers, guitars and microphones. "...I get a phrase, a beat and a lyric at the same time. Once it happened while I was waiting in line to pay my electricity so I wrote a song down on the back of the bill. Other times I've been walking down the street with phrases running through my head and I've had to run into a candy store for a notebook and a Bic pen. I've written songs just about anywhere. You never know where or when inspiration will strike. A home studio is a good place to plot arrangements. I usually spend 10 to 15 hours recording a song. I'll start in the evening - when the sun is going down and the street is quiet - and work straight through the night…"  -Peter Donald

Drawing by
Terre Roche