Funk-rock icons the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose album "By the Way" hit stores last year, this spring will finally launch the U.S. leg of their tour in support of the release.

The outing is scheduled to kick off on May 1, and tickets to a number of shows will hit the box office this Friday and Saturday (2/14-15). Members of the group's fan club will have an early shot at tickets, according to details posted at the band's official website.

A handful of mid-May Canadian dates are sandwiched between the first and second legs of the U.S. run, which happen in early May and June, respectively. Venues for many of the shows have not yet been announced.

Rapper Snoop Dogg will open for the Chili Peppers during the second U.S. leg, according to a journal entry that bassist Flea posted to the group's website on Monday (2/10).

"Snoop Dogg is gonna play with us on the 2nd leg of our U.S. tour," he wrote. "That is gonna be cool....SNOOP!!!! Snoop rocks. I love Snoop. He is my favorite rapper ever with the possible exception of Chuck D."

"By the Way," the Chili Peppers' eighth studio album, surfaced last July. The music video for the album's latest single, "Can't Stop," is streaming at the group's website, as are the album's previous singles, "Zephyr" and the title-track.

To date, "By the Way" has sold about 1.4 million copies in the U.S., according to industry sources. The album's predecessor, 1999's "Californication," is certified quadruple platinum, signifying U.S. shipment of 4 million copies.