2013–2014: Formation and debut album Hughes was first introduced to Watt by friend and fellow musician
Julian Lennon on February 9, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. After the guitarist emailed Hughes some of his music, Hughes recalls that he "heard a good writer, a good guitar player, and a good singer, three things that are important", at which point he decided to enlist him in his new band. Speaking about this meeting, Hughes recalls that he "was so moved by the music, I said, 'We've got to record this!'", at which point he called Bonham to finalise the group's lineup. Upon release, the album reached number 78 on the
Billboard 200, number 22 on Top Rock Albums, and topped the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Outside of the US, it reached number 26 on the
UK Albums Chart, topped the
UK Rock Albums Chart, and charted in a number of European territories. The band's debut live performance took place on May 28 at the
Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood, California. The setlist included all 13 songs from the album, plus cover versions of
Led Zeppelin's "
What Is and What Should Never Be" and "
Immigrant Song", and songs by Hughes's previous bands
Trapeze ("Medusa") and
Deep Purple ("
Burn").
2014–2015: Lineup change and breakup In August 2014, it was announced that Bonham had left the group prior to the band's upcoming UK tour, with the announcement citing "professional commitments" as the reason preventing his continued involvement. He was replaced by
Joey Castillo, and Bonham later added to the news by stating that, "I love those guys – but it wasn't going to work out for me. I will support them as I love the band I helped create, and Joey is great." On January 15, 2015, it was announced that California Breed had split up, with the band announcing on its Twitter page that "We are no more… another thing we couldn't keep together." Watt later added his own thoughts on the announcement, adding "I put everything I had into this band. All I can say is I was in it for the long haul. This is not the end – it is truly the beginning." ==Style, songwriting, and influences==