Haskins was born in Gainesville, Florida. His family's love for music exposed him to the likes of Cole Porter, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Motown, Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, The Replacements and Elvis Costello, familiarising him with pop music and its many forms. Haskins himself was involved in many middle/high school bands including The Music Butchers, Bloody Awful and The Robot Bunnies from Hell.
