One of the things that makes a band great is group chemistry. Without it, a band can fall into obscurity or even fail to get off the ground in the first place. Luckily, 5 Mile Myth has enough chemistry to spare, as is apparent from just one conversation with the band. They are one of the most genuine groups of people that anyone could have the pleasure of meeting, and that quality is reflective in their music. 5 Mile Myth consists of Jayna Feldman, Erik Trignani, Sofia Maldonado and Kailo Castilla. They are a local Chico State band whose place of origin is similar to many great bands: a music room.

Feldman, Maldonado and Castilla met in a choir, as all three of them are music majors.

“So we all met there and we started to jam and at the beginning of this year, we found Erik,” Maldonado said.

“I’m actually friends with Sofia’s girlfriend so she got me sorta into the band and I stuck around,” Trignani said.

Consisting of a melting pot of styles, 5 Mile Myth’s songwriting is unique, especially because the band itself has yet to write a collaborative song together.

“We just bring (a song we’ve written) to practice and jam on it and see if it feels good and it always evolves and becomes something new,” Maldonado said.

As an impartial judge, Trignani very cautiously gave his two cents on which of his bandmates song was his favorite to drum out to.

“I haven’t written any of the songs, but personally my favorite song to drum to is ‘Be Chil.’ It has really cool rhythms in that song. That song was written by Sofia,” Trignani said. “I Absolutely love that song, but each of there songs has their own genres and different vibes so it is very interesting as a drummer to play a different style in one set. It’s a really fun time.”

Feldman touched on a piece of advice someone had given them that has stuck with them.

“Put out your music even though it can be really scary at first. Share it, because it comes from a vulnerable place. It’s kind of scary, but you gotta just put it out there someone will appreciate it. If they don’t, who cares? It’s music,” Feldman said.

The future seems bright for 5 Mile Myth. Though Maldonado is graduating after this semester and moving back to Los Angeles, the band vows to stay together.

“We’re planning on staying together. I don’t think we’re going to be able to find anyone to replace Sofia, I mean, she’s Sofia,” Feldman said.

“We’ll tour for the summer or something. This is pretty special, we got to keep it going,” Maldonado said.

5 Mile Myth is currently working on an EP they hope to be released by the end of the semester. You can find 5 Mile Myth on Instagram at @5milemythband.

On a final note 5 Mile Myth offers this piece of advice to any aspiring artists:

“Just play, play, play. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone’s on their own path. Just don’t stop,” Maldonado said.

Special thanks to Chico State SOTA Production for the collaboration.

Alex Coba can be reached at [email protected] or @ThatOneGuyCoba on Twitter.