Foster grow up as an only-child and attended high school in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating, he moved in with his uncle in Sylmar, Los Angeles in California to pursue a music career. Foster worked various odd jobs, and, at night, he began to attend parties in Hollywood in an attempt to network. He said, "I felt like an 18-year-old Hunter S. Thompson. I was just diving into this Hollywood Hills subculture and taking it all in. I wasn't shy about taking my guitar out at a party. I wanted to be the center of attention."

At one time, he roomed with actor Brad Renfro. Foster struggled with drug addiction during his initial years in Los Angeles, saying, "It got pretty dark. My friends thought I was going to die. I was blind to it. When I was 19 years old, it got to a point where I said, 'Enough is enough'... I saw time was just passing me by. I wasn't being productive."