Aimee Mann keeps 'Smilers' on the road

Aimee Mann returns to the road in October for a slate of fall headlining dates as she continues to support her most recent studio album, which surfaced last summer.

The tour--which covers the Western states and follows Mann's recently completed summer run on the East Coast--gets underway Oct. 2 in Santa Barbara, CA, and winds to a close Oct. 16 in Los Angeles. Full details on the outing, which includes an Oct. 4 slot at San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, are included below.

Mann has been on the road since last June supporting "@#%&! Smilers," which debuted at No. 32 on The Billboard 200 and snagged the No. 2 spot on the Top Independent Albums chart.

Produced by Mann's bassist, Paul Bryan, "@#%&! Smilers" follows 2006's holiday album "One More Drifter in the Snow." The new set features guest appearances by singer/songwriter Sean Hayes and author Dave Eggers, who lends his whistling skills to the track "Little Tornado."

The 13-track album focuses on "the inner life of people living far from the bright lights of success or fame," according to Mann's online bio. "I've always been fascinated with eccentric personalities," she said.

"When I write about them--the narcissists, performers, eccentrics, know-it-alls--it helps me recognize some truths about the world and about myself."