Unlike most musicians who spend their touring downtime getting drunk, Black Halos guitarist Matt Camirand passed the time writing tunes – dark, poetic, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen-inspired alt-country tracks that were radical departures from the Halos’ speedy-rock gems. He recorded them in crappy motel rooms with a four-track; and they became the first tunes of Blood Meridian -- a haunting, intoxicating five-man band that he now fronts. Regardless of their downer-vibe, they’re one of Vancouver’s most thrilling new exports.

We caught up with Camirand while in NYC, promoting Kick Up the Dust, their upcoming album on V2 Records, described by Gigwise as such: “Mixing a spit-in-your-face punk attitude with a country flair that reeks of whiskey-fueled recording sessions and future mental illness, the skies are slate grey, someone’s pissed on the campfire, the girl is never coming back and the train has broken down. It’s awesome.” 

Here, Camirand discusses his favorite hometown spots. In his own words:

For bars, Vancouver’s kinda lame. It doesn’t have those neighborhood bars you wanna hang out in. If anyone goes anywhere to hang, it’s Pat’s Pub. But nothing about it is cool. It’s run down; it’s in a shitty neighborhood. There’s nothing to look at. But, yeah, you can find me there. For the most part, my friends and I get a six-pack and go to the beach.

Most of the good restaurants in Vancouver are vegetarian. I’m not vegetarian, but a lot of my friends are. There’s a place called The Foundation, which is good. I get this penne with peanut sauce. I never had peanuts on pasta before, but it works. I love peanut sauce.

For small shows, there isn’t anything good, there are no CBGBs or anything with history to it. I’m really selling Vancouver, aren’t I? Well, there is this place The Commodore Ballroom. It’s where The Clash played their first show in North America, and The Pixies broke up on the stage there. They have great shows and a sick sound system. I saw Slayer there a couple years ago.

There’s also Richards on Richards, a small venue where everyone plays. But it’s a bad bar – it’s run by jocks and meatheads. No one hangs out there. I’ve been thrown out a couple times for stupid stuff like breaking martini glasses and setting off fire extinguishers. I’m lucky I didn’t get my ass kicked. Basically, you go to see a show there, and get the hell out.

Vancouver is all about the outdoors. Third Beach is the furthest you can go out of the city, but still be in the city. It’s where everyone goes to hang out and light bonfires and not get busted by cops. You’re not supposed to light fires because of the forest – there are 300-year-old trees.

Sailing is awesome in Vancouver -- if you know someone with a sailboat. We go around the Golf Islands, which are these tiny islands. We go for like five or six days and just get lost.

And there are lots of good lakes. In the summertime, we grab a van and a bunch of people and go to Golden Ears Park, where there’s this insane lake. You swim down a shallow river that empties into a basin and it’s at the bottom of two enormous mountains. You look up and it’s just these sheer cliffs.

Go There:

Pat's Pub, 403 East Hastings Street, (604) 255-4301

The Foundation, 2301 Main Street, (604) 708-0881

The Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville Street, (604) 739-7469; hob.com

Richards on Richards, 1036 Richards Street, (604) 687-6794; richardsonrichards.com

Golden Ears, bcadventure.com

Check Them Out:

Blood Meridian plays Mercury Lounge tonight, 217 E. Houston St., NYC; (212) 260-4700; mercuryloungenyc.com

“We Almost Made It Home,” $20, amazon.com

“Kick Up The Dust” will be released in August

For more on the band, bloodmeridianmusic.com and myspace.com/bloodmeridian