Blood Meridian, a group that started in a hotel room during a Black Halos tour (of which the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of Blood Meridian, Matt Camirand, was a part), took their name from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, and looked to mix punk, Americana, and rock influences together. Adding fellow Vancouver musicians Joshua Wells (Camirand's Pink Mountaintops and Black Mountain bandmate) on drums, Kevin Grant on bass, Jeff Lee on guitar, and Shira Blustein on organ and piano, the group began to gain attention in its native Canada, eventually releasing its V2 debut, Kick Up the Dust, in 2006. ~ Marisa Brown