A St. Paul alumnus best known for his status as a songwriting competition finalist, uses his musical skills for both entertainment and worship.
Dustin Treiber played at The Hangout in Chanute for the first time on Saturday, March 29. Treiber said he’s been playing guitar since he was 10 years old.
“I always loved music growing up, and watching country singers perform on TV,” Treiber said. “It’s just something I thought would be fun.”
Treiber put these skills to use in high school, where he played for mass at St. Francis Catholic Church once a month. After graduating from St. Paul High School, Treiber attended Pittsburg State University. As a student, he began writing songs of his own.
“I would often write about my own experiences or those of my friends,” Treiber said. “I try to challenge myself to make the next song completely different than the previous song I wrote.”
While still getting an education, Treiber played in bands across the four-state area. One act was a duo called Treiber and Robinson, featuring Chase Robinson.
Treiber graduated with a degree in graphics communication management in 2005. A few years later in 2009, Treiber entered his song “Take Me Drunk, I’m Home” into the Country Music Television’s “Music City Madness” contest.
“My greatest claim to fame is a song I wrote titled, ‘Take me drunk, I’m home,’” Treiber said. “I don’t even drink, but I’ve been around enough parties that I can write about other peoples’ experiences.”
Treiber said the song was inspired by a house full of fun guys who loved to throw theme parties.
“The contest only lasted three seasons, and it required undiscovered musicians to shoot a homemade music video for an original song,” Treiber said. “Over 600 people entered, I made it into a group of 64 contestants to move on. From there it was like a basketball bracket of contestants’ videos going head-to-head.”
Treiber made it into the final eight, and the song made the Top 40 charts in Europe. His music career, however, did not take off after this.
While his children were young, Treiber restricted his musicianship to church events.
“Playing music for church is not about performing, but rather praying,” Trieber said. “It’s a wonderful thing to do and I still stay very active in sharing my gifts with the Christian community. Though obviously, there are a lot of fun songs that cannot be played in church.” After his hiatus, Treiber decided to get back to performing on stages. He began with open mic events and became a solo act; performing across the four-state area.
“Since then, I have kept busy with around 50 shows a year,” Treiber said. “I perform for bars, restaurants, casinos, lake parties, and fairs; including my first appearance on stage at the Tulsa State Fair last fall.”
Throughout his career, he’s opened for acts such as Billy Dean, Luke Bryan, Craig Campbell, Moe Bandy and Bo Phillips. His musical influences include ‘80s and ‘90s country artists like Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, and Randy Travis. As well as rock bands, from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Matchbox 20.
“During my shows, you will hear a lot of country music with some red dirt and rock music mixed in.”
Treiber says that music is one of his part-time jobs. He works as a project manager for the information technology services department at PSU and harvests pecans for his father’s business each winter. He and his wife, Sarah, work together on an annual Catholic youth retreat called Teens Encounter Christ.
“I hope to someday record a Christian album,” Treiber said.
Outside of work, he enjoys hunting, fishing, playing video games, and learning new songs to add to his setlist.
“I’m naturally more of an introvert, but I enjoy being on stage and performing for people. I love creating good music.” Treiber said. “It can be a rush when your audience gets into a song. Even at smaller shows, it’s nice to see someone just tapping their foot. I know they are enjoying what I’m doing.”
