About The Minimum Wage
Niagara outfit The Minimum Wage creates an untamed brand of indie-punk rock and roll inspired by a wide range of musical influences and tastes. The band released the DIY EP “Small Stakes” on Swear Word Records in 2022, and has since concentrated on bringing their live show to audiences all across Southern Ontario. In late 2023, the band found themselves with a surplus of new material that was finished, road-tested, and ready to record. After a long weekend spent at Unified Recorders Studio in St. Catharines, the band emerged with 6 new tracks.
ABOUT THE SINGLE “Ransom Note” – release date: September 10th, 2025 on Swear Word Records
“Oddly enough – “Ransom Note” is one of the oldest tunes in our catalogue. We just never got around to recording it until 2023. It was among the first collaborative songs we wrote. Domani was on a business trip and I think the idea of travel struck him – you get to a town, check into a hotel, where the rooms are all vaguely familiar but have strange vibes or auras…you never feel truly at home. I think I came up with the clumsy metaphor like reading something where the text is all cutout letters like one of those Ransom letters you see in the movies. It’s legible – but oddly arranged and just different enough that it makes you feel uncomfortable.
Musically – TMW pulls from a real cross section of inspiration. This song, to me, was a real Americana-meets-Canadiana vibe. I felt my inner Old 97s and Wilco love coming out, and Domani leaned into his Weakerthans/Cuff The Duke inspiration – we hit the studio with the band and everyone put their own spin on it. The end result I think is very much strange little song that perfectly represents TMW. ”
– Nolan Jodes (singer/guitarist)
Stream “Ransom Note”on All Platforms
For any more information on the band, email pr@fromthestrait.com
