He joined the early New Wave scene at age 15, playing in bands at live venues in New Zealand, including Mainstreet Cabaret, the Reverb Room, The Windsor Castle and The Esplanade Hotel.

[3] In 1997, Johnson won the APRA Silver Scroll, New Zealand's most prestigious songwriting award, for "Liberty" from the album Chinese Whispers.

Johnson released the albums Here Comes The Caviar in 2004 and Anyone Can Say Goodbye in 2006, followed by Seven Day Cure, Secret Weapon, Exits, and Swing The Lantern.

Songs by Johnson have been placed in TV shows: The Hills,[4] Party of Five, Beautiful People, High School Reunion, Road Rules, Castle, The Brokenwood Mysteries, and 800 Words.

[citation needed] In 2018 Johnson scored a documentary on New Zealand wine, A Seat At The Table, which won 2019 Best Of The Fest at the Vancouver International Film Festival.