The Beatles's performance on The Ed Sullivan Show inspired Johnston to start playing guitar in childhood.
[1] In the late 1970s he attended the University of Miami, occasionally involved in jam sessions at a Unitarian Church with Ira Sullivan.
[2] In the early 1980s he moved to New York City and worked with Warne Marsh, then as a sideman with Houston Person and Etta Jones.
[1][2] Person produced his first album, Walk On, which was engineered by Rudy Van Gelder.
[2] He has worked with Joey DeFrancesco, Lou Donaldson, Lee Konitz, and Lonnie Smith.