Indie buzz-band Arctic Monkeys [ tickets ] have laid the groundwork for North American tour starting in May, hot on the heels of their debut album, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not."

The British rockers will hit 17 cities on their May-June excursion, kicking off with a May 27 date in Vancouver, British Columbia. The following night the band will make an appearance at the three-day Sasquatch Festival in George, WA.

After heading south along the West Coast, the outing will expand into the US Southwest before covering the Northeast and ending up back in Canada for two dates near the middle of June.

The band's North American itinerary is sandwiched between tours of Europe and Australia; full details on Arctic Monkeys' overseas doings can be found at their official website.

Released in February, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not" debuted No. 1 on the British album charts, and has already gone triple platinum in the UK, as well as gold in Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East. The album reportedly sold 100,000 copies in the UK on its first day of release.

Arctic Monkeys were formed in Sheffield, England, in 2003, about one year after singer/guitarist Alex Turner and guitarist Jamie Cook, both teenagers at the time, received their first guitars as Christmas presents.

The band's first single, last October's "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor," debuted at No. 1 on the UK singles chart.