Feresten was born in Fall River and raised in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where he attended public schools. Feresten then attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he planned to prepare for a career in music. However, according to Feresten, while there he was kicked out of his dormitory for dropping light bulbs out of his eighth story window, before seeing David Letterman perform the same stunt on his show a few weeks later. "I thought, 'God, he is getting paid. This is what network television pays you to do. Maybe I need to think twice about this music career.'" Feresten dropped out of college in order to attempt a career in television, working first as an intern at NBC in New York City, before being promoted to receptionist.