As far as Freedy Johnston is concerned, it all seems to have started with "Benny and the Jets," that kooky, off-kilter Elton John song.

"I know it sounds strange and presumptuous, but when I heard 'Benny and the Jets,' my life changed, and I immediately thought, 'Someday, I'm gonna be a well-known musician,'" Johnston recalled. "It was my favorite song in 1974, when I was 13, and it's still my favorite song- now, obviously, for more varied reasons than when I first heard it."

It may be hard connecting Elton John's lurching, glam-pop tune with Johnston's finely-drawn portraits of troubled, poorly-behaved  people, just subsisting on society's margins. But hey, we'll take the man at his word.

When Johnston plays at Larchmont's Watercolor Cafe on March 11th, see if you hear echoes of Elton John. If not, you'll still get an earful of deep and tuneful songs, many of them drawn from his first record of new material  in eight years.

Currently, "Rain on the City" is garnering rave reviews from The New Yorker to SPIN, and Westchester's radio station The Peak 107.1 is constantly playing it. Still, the Kansas-born, New York-based songwriter thinks, unlike in Elton John's day, that the record thing is passe.

"I've always loved the radio. Still do," he said. "But the whole deal of making a record and getting people to buy it? It's a dying thing. The Internet has seen to that."

Johnston wants to say to people, "You've already created something that allows you to steal music. Why should I go to the trouble to make any more?" He is now working on songs for a follow-up and co-writing tunes for music publisher Bug Music to get to other artists. "But if I do make another disc," he said, "I may just do what other musicians are doing: give it away free at my shows."

One benefit of this "crazy techno world," Johnston says, is that live music is becoming more precious to everyone. And that's what he loves doing the most."

This rant, delivered in Johnston's good-natured, gallows-humor style, should not prevent anyone from going to those antiquated places called record stores and seeking out his back catalogue. Starting in the 1990s with "The Trouble Tree," the Kinsley, Kansas, musician has amassed a body of work as strong as legends Neil Young or Randy Newman.

You can be forgiven for mostly knowing "Bad Reputation," his best-known song from the classic disc "This Perfect World." But the consistency of writing, the all-pervasive melodic strength (imagine Bacharach writing the tunes, Raymond Carver the lyrics) and the singularly-spooky nature of his characters makes Johnston an American original.

Plus, after some time away from the music scene, his fortunes are turning. The Peak  and other stations have jumped on the single "Don't Fall in Love with a Lonely Girl." But if Johnston has a hit on his hands, he's being remarkably poker-faced about it. And he has everything in perspective.

Johnston was interested in painting before he began writing songs. In fact, he studied fine arts for a semester at a Kansas college. And he's painting again, having already sold pieces he's nearly finished. "I love writing songs," he said. "But, essentially, I just want to make enough money from music that I can live decently, continue to write tunes and get more into my artwork. That's all I'm hoping for."

As for his gig at The Watercolor Cafe, Johnston is more upbeat. "Every time I've played I've had a good time there. The food is great," he said. "Bruce [Carroll- the owner] is a really cool guy, so, I'm pretty psyched."

The downside? Johnston won't be able to have Sparky, his dog, with him onstage this time. "He was onstage there once, but he started howling along with the tunes and he had to be taken off," he said. Aside from missing my dog, I can honestly say, I'm really looking forward to the gig."

Freedy Johnston will be at The Watercolor Cafe on March 11th at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20.For more information, call 834-2213 or go to www.watercolorcafe.com.