Dean moved to study film at NYU, lived in the dorm and frequented Ninth Circle bar, aged 19.
Johnson played a seminal role in the emergence of the Queercore gay rock-and-roll subculture in the East Village.
He partied with art-world luminaries like Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol, and performed at nightclubs such as Area, Danceteria, The Cat Club, and the Pyramid.
[1] Johnson was the driving force behind the ground-breaking Rock and Roll Fag Bar party, held Tuesday nights in the late 1980s at The World.
He subsequently produced the monthly HomoCorps live music showcase at CBGB, which featured gay and transgender rock-and-roll bands.