Rising from the fertile ground of the East Village punk squat community in 1980s New York City, Nausea began as a conventional hardcore punk outfit in 1985. When singer Al Long joined the band in 1988, their darker crust-punk tendencies came to the forefront. Appealing equally to fans of both punk and metal, Nausea (not to be confused with the California grindcore band of the same name) became influential in both camps, even though they disbanded in 1992. Bassist John John Jesse went on to become a well known punk-themed painter.