Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler spilled the beans at Elton John‘s 20th annual Academy Award viewing party.about a new Aerosmith album and an upcoming summer tour. A very upbeat Tyler told Rolling Stone he’s found time amid his American Idol schedule to spend some time in studio with Aerosmith and says he’s “having such a good time” with the band.

Juggling his Aerosmith and American Idol duties is no problem with Tyler saying “Both things, we’re nailing them”. Aerosmith’s reuniting with producer Jack Douglas from classic albums Toys in the Attic and Draw the Line and they’re bringing back the classic Aerosmith sound.

Steven told Rolling Stone the band has been in studio for over a month and says, “We’re gonna have a vintage sound, ’cause we’re going to tape and a lot of good things like that… We’re keeping tracks lean, not a lot of overdubs, and like I said, we’re using Jack to his fullest. So you’re gonna hear some stuff where you might think Aerosmith’s back.”

So far Tyler says the recording session feels like the old days with the band. “I’m having such a good time writing again,” he said. “You got the songs right now where they’re like shells, with no lyrics and no melody, and I get to fill in the blanks like I did with Back in the Saddle when it was just a track.”