Some know early on what they were meant to do. There's no explosion of realization, no reeling epiphany, just a talent and a desire to use it. That's the long and short of it for Darren Geffre, pop-rock singer and songwriter from Aberdeen , South Dakota . Though he describes it as just a place to raise corn, it might well have been his field of dreams.

"Music, to me, is a magical state of mind. It has never done me wrong. If I have a hard day, it always brings me back to positivity."

This mindset rose bright and early in his life, when, at the age of 6, young Darren took a shine to sound.

"I remember hearing my brothers and sisters playing records and 8-tracks. I got a record player for Christmas and was soon stealing their records. I listened to them for hours and hours," he reminisces. Though it was a fine gift, it was only the wrapping on the true present he received. "I remember being so intrigued by all the sounds, how they were put together and knew one day that's what I wanted to do. That’s when I started singing."

"I grew up listening to Casey Kasem's Top 40 Countdown and aspired to one day have my music be played to the masses." Darren says, explaining, "The derivative of 'Pop' music means 'to the masses' and that’s who I want to hear it, 'the masses'."

"I got my first guitar when I was twelve years old from a pawnshop. I paid $35 for it. It was a piece of junk, but I still treasured it. I wanted to sing and play guitar at the same time. So I found an old Christmas book, and started playing the chords shown on it while I was singing. In no time, I learned all the chords and was playing and singing. Soon after that, I started creating my own songs and laying them down," he says. While Darren now wishes all to hear his music, he recalls a time when he was less than eager to be heard. He was soon cured of this condition by his own medicine. "As a kid, believe it or not, I was very, very shy. My friend and me were recording a song and it came to the vocals.. He said 'Why don’t you sing it?' I was like, 'No, not now with you here'. He said that he had to be there to start and stop the recorder, and suggested turning the lights off. I said, 'How about if I sing under a blanket or something?' So I gathered a few blankets, a flashlight, and started singing. When I started singing, he was so blown away. His mom came in and went 'Who was that?' She’s like, 'You should front a band'. So we started a band."

Though it was a good life, with Darren going on to become a full time touring artist, he knew that the direction he was steering for was his own and no one else's. "The music that I write is a diary of my life and not that of a band. I used to be in bands and would spend a lot of time and money on photos; posters, t-shirts and then we would break up. I got tired of it, so I went solo. At least, I know that with me at the helm, it’s always going to keep going as long as I want it to."

Ironically, in many ways, it has been the losses in Darren's life that produced the most gain. It is difficult to imagine from seeing the healthy, energetic performer now, butm at one pointm he was tipping the scales instead of singing them.

"The year was 2000 and I was 305 pounds.. I got promoted to a job in Albuquerque , NM, and was in the process of moving out of South Dakota . Before my move, I sent a demo to some producers in Los Angeles and Nashville . It was a friend of a friend, a real long shot. But my demo found its way to them and blew them away. They wanted to work with me and asked what I looked like. I told them and they still wanted to work with me. I was required to lose 100 pounds in 10 months, which would be about the time they were going to shop the CD. I hired Duncan Pain as a trainer. He took me under his wing and kicked my butt. In 10 months, I lost 125 pounds, which helped launch my career. I owe him my life, " he admits. Lighter of heart as well as body, he began to tell his story to encourage others, landing in Men's Health Magazine, plus their book, 'The Belly Off Diet."

"If not for Duncan and my decision to make that change nine years ago, I don’t know where I would be today. Never judge a person by what’s on the outside. I had everyone telling me I was crazy and I would never achieve my dreams.. Through hard work and determination, I proved them wrong. I love proving people wrong," he adds with a grin.

"Another thing that really inspired me is my late mother Melvina “Chinky” Geffre. She was an amazing woman, very intelligent, creative and was my pillar stone.. In 2005, when my career was exploding, I found out my mother was terminal with cancer. I stepped away from it to be there the last year of her life. It may have cost me my momentum, but I owed that to her to be there."

It would take a little time, but his pace began to quicken once more. He later released his CD 'Uncivilized', which was nominated for numerous Native American Music awards, and two Grammy nominations. "I have been working on my new CD titled ‘Into the Light’ for the past month with Makoche Records from Bismarck , North Dakota . I love the way the sessions are feeling and sounding. My sound is really interesting, and has really evolved over the past five years. I use a lot of unconventional chords that just work. I have a feeling this one will go down the same roads as 'Uncivilized'."

"I also work as an IT Director for a Catholic School System. I was always into computers. It's nice now because I have bridged music and computers to record, market and promote my music. In my songs, I talk about love, the gray areas of life and put into words what most people couldn't." he says, being much inspired by his own love, Dara, and his three children, Terren, Trista, and Isaiah. His music may be 'uncivilized', but Darren is very much a civil man. "I do what I do because music is my life, its my voice. I love it when someone hears one of my songs and they get it. Hopefully, I can shed some light to a problem they may be going through. There is a part in the new Rocky movie that really hit home on that subject. He told his son, that if you fall, you get up and keep going."