Like so many young dreamers, Austin Collins knew deep down that he wanted to be a songwriter. There were just two problems: His parents wanted him to get that University of Texas finance degree he was working on, then go out and earn a good living. And he couldn't finish any of his songs.

At that time, Collins didn't even take his guitar outside his dorm. But eventually, something clicked for the Houston native, and he managed to complete one song he titled "Something Better."

After he cleared that first hurdle, the music flowed freely. He began testing his songwriting on fellow Austin musician Michael Jarrett, with whom he started playing at local open-mics. "We used to sit in his trailer and swap songs all night," recalls Collins. "That's really where I first started getting the courage to play my songs. Michael pushed me out of the nest."

By then, Collins had long outgrown his adolescent fascination with Guns 'n' Roses, then Dwight Yoakam, and turned his attention toward alt-country. "If Son Volt and Whiskeytown had a baby, it would be my music," the 26-year-old says.

He soon build a repertoire strong enough to impress self-described "song slinger" Billy Cerveny, the Nashville musician who would wind up producing Collins' debut. Of course, the namesake tune of his Fat Caddy Records LLC release is the one that unlocked his creative dam. Collins also chose Something Better as the album's title because it exemplifies the optimism that permeates many of his songs, a philosophy perhaps cultivated by his deep spiritualism.

Collins and Cerveny met during summer 2003 while both were volunteering at a camp in Colorado. They soon discovered they shared the same musical tastes; both are huge fans of Ryan Adams' album Heartbreaker. They quickly bonded, and when Cerveny heard Collins' songs, he told his young friend, "If you ever want to do a record, let me know."

Toward the end of 2004, they booked time at Nashville's Sputnik Studio, which is owned by Grammy Award-winning engineer Mitch Dane. (The recording was mastered by two-time Grammy winner Richard Dodd.)

Producer Cerveny says, "I'd put this record against anything in the alt-country world. Austin has it, whatever that is. I see nothing but a rapid ascent for him."

With the release of Something Better in February, Collins has made his dream come true—his first one anyway.

Profile courtesy of McGuckin Entertainment PR and Fat Caddy Records.