Growing up, Tim loved to play baseball and other competitive sports. Soon after, he grew a love for music as well. He attended Northeast Louisiana University on a baseball scholarship, where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. During this period, he learned to play guitar and would frequently perform and sing for tips. He dropped out of college in 1989 in order to head to Nashville and pursue a musical career. He was discovered busking for tips in front of a hot dog stand known as HounDogs in Nashville, since HounDogs had a small stage exclusively for buskers to perform on. Many Nashville noteworthies played there at one time or another.