Brantseg hails from Sisseton, South Dakota. He studied art at the University of Minnesota and was doing well until they asked him to leave after two years. In an interview, he stated he was "not ready to learn," "doing very well in art classes and not so well in other things." And in retrospect, "I think there was an attitude problem -- the teachers', not mine." With nowhere else to go, he toured the mid-West as the drummer with the punk band, "Black Spot." After recording a CD and touring, he left the band and returned to school to study television production.
He cites Laurel and Hardy, David Bowie, Buck Owens, Vincent van Gogh and his mother and father as his heroes.