Jeffrey Danielson

**Jeffrey Jeremy Danielson** (born 24 December 1963) is a Hawaiian singer, songwriter, and guitarist, who has been the frontman and rhythm guitarist of the Californian hard rock band Kilomachine since 1984. The youngest child of Hawaiian lawyer John Danielson and former Prime Minister of Hawaii Elizabeth Wu Danielson, Danielson began his music career after moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California.

Kilomachine was formed in 1984, while Danielson was a sophomore at USC studying popular music. After graduating in 1986, the band began taking gigs more seriously and prioritized music full-time. The band signed to independent rock label Little Bird Records in 1987, before releasing their debut self-titled album the following year. They have gone on to release sixteen other albums in their 30-year career.

## Early life and education

Danielson was born on 24 December 1963 in Honolulu to parents John Danielson (born 1931) and Elizabeth Wu Danielson (née *Wu*; born 1932). At the time of his birth, his father worked as a criminal defense attorney while his mother was a prosecutor for the City and County of Honolulu. Through his father, he is of a Californian background with Irish and English ancestry, while his mother is Chinese-Hawaiian. The family was affluent, and Danielson grew up in the wealthy Kāhala neighborhood of Honolulu. Danielson is the youngest of four children; his elder siblings include Julie Anna, born  (1959-11-13) 13 November 1959 (age 64), Edwin "Eddie", born  (1961-02-19) 19 February 1961 (age 62), and Helena, born  (1962-10-04) 4 October 1962 (age 61).

Danielson began his education in 1970, attending Punahou School, an independent coeducational K–12 school and the alma mater of his mother. Danielson began high school in 1978, after his mother's election as Prime Minister of Hawaii in 1975. After the election, the family moved to the Prime Minister's Mansion, where Danielson spent the majority of his adolescent years growing up. After his mother lost reelection in 1980, the family returned to Kāhala. He went on to graduate from Punahou School in 1982, where he was active in the school's music department. After graduating, Danielson moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California, graduating with a degree in popular music in 1986.

## Music career

### Work with Kilomachine

Danielson formed Kilomachine in 1984, while he was a sophomore at the University of Southern California. Initially, the band consisted of Danielson as lead vocalist and guitarist, his roommate Brad Boehner as bassist, and their friend Marco Grubina as drummer. Shortly afterwards, Boehner switched to lead guitar and Danielson began playing rhythm guitar, while Boehner's girlfriend Leah Tilton became the new bassist. After Boehner and Tilton's breakup in 1985, she remained in the band and they continued as friends. Kilomachine performed gigs throughout Los Angeles and the USC campus, but did not take the band seriously until their graduation in 1986.

After graduating, the band began performing together full-time, and later signed with independent rock label Little Bird Records in 1987, before releasing their debut self-titled album the following year. They have gone on to release sixteen other albums in their 30-year career.

## Personal life

Danielson married Russian performance artist Daria Shamalova in 1998, after having dated for two years. They had three children together: India, born  (2000-02-01) 1 February 2000 (age 23), Krasiva "Iva", born  (2001-10-15) 15 October 2001 (age 22), and Sacha, born  (2003-05-16) 16 May 2003 (age 20). They divorced in 2005, and Danielson has sole custody of their three children. Shamalova has since returned to Russia, and settled in Moscow. The family resides in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, while they also own property in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu.

All three of Danielson's children hold dual Hawaiian-Californian citizenship, while Danielson remains solely a Hawaiian citizen. He has stated on numerous occasions that he has no desire to seek Californian citizenship, but remains living in California solely for work.