Australian hard rock icons AC/DC are getting closer to ending an eight-year drought of new music. "God, I'm ready," bassist Cliff Williams, who was in L.A. to participate at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp. To that end, the group will hit the studio March 1.

Almost as long as the wait for new music is the band's absence from the stage. Tour plans, however, aren't as firm. "If we go out again or when we go out again," Williams said. "You just never know. We've been around a long time, so we're going to get together and get in the studio and I fully expect we will tour. I don't mean to be so negative about that. When the last tour ended in early '01, you'd see kids on their dads' shoulders. And these kids were like 10, 12 years old. It will be tremendous to see that again. And it's very cool — younger kids getting into older music."