Musical neighbors help each other get back into business

Published 12:35 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

SNOQUALMIE – Garr Lang and William Johnson were ready to give up on the music industry until they moved in next door to each other in Snoqualmie.

“I was just sitting in my house and heard this guy playing guitar next door,” said Johnson.

What Johnson heard was Garr Lang, a songwriter and performer who has written more than 100 songs. He also has written books and plays, some of which have been produced.

“I consider myself a writer,” said Lang, who graduated from Washington State University with an English degree. “Music is just the canvas that I write in.”

Lang had been to Boston, New York and Nashville in search of a music career. Along the way he had found many admirers in the business, but not much popular success. He had moved back to his home state of Washington and was ready to give up music as a career for good.

Johnson himself wasn’t looking to be in the music business either. He had moved to North Bend and then to Snoqualmie after living on the East Coast where he worked with hip hop acts like Onyx and DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (Will Smith). One too many bad deals had soured his taste for the business and Johnson started working on other ventures.

But Johnson kept one thing from his experiences, an ear for a good tune.

“I know a good song when I hear it,” he said.

The two neighbors met and talked about their respective pasts in the music business. Although they came from different backgrounds, they both appreciated a good song; a good song that stood on its own devoid of glamor, production and marketing.

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