You don’t have to actually die to start over, but you might have to pretend to. Fake Your Own Death was born out of studio apartment located above a bar in Berlin where Terry Ashkinos (formerly of indie band Elephone) was studying the fall of communism for the American government. A handful of songs became a collaboration between Terry and drummer Scott Eberhardt and soon after became a band with the addition of Izzy Chavarin on bass and Jimmy Chen on guitar.

Fake Your Own Death songs are a combination of loathing and reverb. Tight beats and sharp guitars compliment a bass heavy vibe that is post punk at its finest. Alluring stories about misfits, escape and the collapse of meaning create a patchwork of uneasiness and romantic nostalgia.

FYOD has been compared to bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, Love and Rockets, Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, The National and Jesus and Mary Chain by both local and national press.

Two of the band members in FYOD are English teachers, one is a shoe model and the other one is named Jimmy. The band has played with the likes of The Warlocks, Blood Red Shoes, You Say Party We Say Die, Film School, White Denim, Bob Mould, Trail of the Dead, The Devotionals and Gang of Four. Fake Your Own Death’s debut album is called Invisible and Bulletproof (Monolathe Recordings 2014) followed by El Terrible (Breakup Records 2016). This year will see the release of 2 EP’s The Wake and Smile Campaign in 2018.

"First up was Fake Your Own Death. What surprised me about them, then, is how good they are. Their songs are really good, like if Interpol decided to play faster and have some hard rock riffs. The vocals had a tinge of early Elvis Costello." (Spinning Platters)

" I couldn't have been more impressed with Fake Your Own Death. The music is a mix of Joy Division, Love and Rockets and The National with brief moments of Interpol thrown in. They debuted songs from their forthcoming album to a sizable crowd which was really great to see...I haven't been this excited about a local group in quite some time. Get to know them." (Front Porch Musings)

“Terry Ashkinos, a veteran of the SF indie rock scene, keeps the dark wave dream alive with the deep and expansive track ‘Close,’ from Fake Your Own Death’s new EP ‘The Wake’.” (Boing Boing)

“While the band’s sound sports a melodic-morose shimmer and fade vibe, Ashkinos’ gradually deepening voice takes cues from not only Paul Banks but from Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and Robert Smith.”
(SF Weekly)