He was a founding member of the indie pop duo, Heffron Drive, and the touring guitarist for the Nickelodeon/Sony boy band, Big Time Rush.

[citation needed] Schmidt had purchased some recording equipment and assembled a studio in his bedroom where the two began creating music together.

[citation needed] After Big Time Rush ended in late 2013, Heffron Drive was revived as a band as the full-time project of Dustin & Kendall.

[citation needed] The band embarked on a 26 city tour to promote the album, covering a majority of the United States and addition dates in Mexico.

In October through December 2014, Dustin co-produced Heffron Drive's acoustic album Happy Mistakes: Unplugged which was released April 28, 2015.

[citation needed] Heffron Drive performed at the "A Capitol Fourth" celebration broadcast on PBS in July 2014 and toured internationally promoting both albums with stops in Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, and Italy.

[1] A tour with stops in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon, Milan, Turin and Rome took place in support of the EP release.