The four guys of JOHNNY SMOKE are ridin' the same Highway to Hell. "We're all in our 40s," says drummer Joe Szembrot. "We all have classic-rock influences."For A Dollar, the band's new CD, backs up that assertion. These guys sound like what they look like: Longhairs who know their Aerosmith and AC/DC.Start with "Don't," what Szembrot describes as "the guitarist's take on what you get from the spokepersons and the podiums of the world."It's a cynical take. And Anthony J. Carbone leaves no doubt as to whose spokespersons he's listening to. "But do not take the left side," he sings. "Do what's right when you decide."Congratulations, Gene Simmons and Ted Nugent: As conservatives, you do not rock alone. But the views of Mr. Carbone are not necessarily those of JOHNNY SMOKE or its affiliates. "If he comes to the fork in the road, even though he's a left-handed guitarist, he takes the right side," Szembrot says. "We have some wonderful discussions that detract from our rehearsal time."These politics have not torn apart JOHNNY SMOKE. It's been rocking since 1994, with few line-up changes. The band - "We're the kind of band, women will flash us," Szembrot warns - celebrates the release of For A Dollar with a 5:30 p.m. Saturday in-store performance at The House Of Guitars, and (later) that night at The Penny Arcade.JOHNNY SMOKE has released two albums of original music, and "the CD release party will be our originals, but most of our shows are 80-percent classic rock. You have to do that in this town."Not necessarily a bad thing, Szembrot points out."People are starting to have an appreciation of guitar rock again," he says. "There's a whole generation of kids who missed learning to play an instrument. And now they're finding their parents' music, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath."A few years ago, Szembrot was watching REO Speedwagon playing at the Blue Cross Arena, eventually wandering to the seats directly behind the stage; that's the view he usually has as a drummer. "I saw this 12-, 13-year-old kid in the front row, singing along, pumping his fist in the air," Szembrot says. "I thought, 'There's hope for America.' Compared to where I thought we were heading, it was a sense of relief."