In September 1969, Kaukonen and Casady played a week of acoustic-based concerts at the New Orleans House in Berkeley, California, as Hot Tuna; recordings culled from this engagement were released as the band's eponymous debut album in 1970. This initial Hot Tuna album was remarkably successful, reaching No. 30 on the U.S. album chart. Over the next two years, the various configurations of Hot Tuna began to occupy more and more of Casady's and Kaukonen's time, contributing to the growing divisions within Jefferson Airplane that came to a head in 1972.