 His mother worked in public education with a degree in child psychology and, according to Sitek, "was pretty good about letting me and my brothers explore things.So much so that [she] let me start a hardcore band and practice in our house when I was 14".Sitek developed an interest in music at an early age influenced by his "aunt Paula [who] sneaked out of the house [to see] Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s, and was really into Talking Heads and Blondie".