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artofvisualshock · 3 days

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HD scans of the portraits in The Devil In Me's booklet

Do not repost anywhere.

#dir en grey

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artofvisualshock · 3 days

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Kaoru being mature with a camera

#dir en grey #kaoru

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artofvisualshock · 4 days

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More juicy Dir en Details I managed to squeeze out of local crew friends

Dir en Grey doesn't tour Europe every day, so when they do, yo daddy DirEnDetails uses his network to wring juicy info on our dearest band from the people who actually spent time with them.

For if Japanese band management chooses to stay tight-lipped on the innocuous but fun little details that make people human, my promoter and press friends sure don't. Up your derrières, Sun-Krad!

Enjoy the pointless and mundane but fun details! I'll try to get more, but can't promise.

I obviously can't name these people because

1. privacy,

2. they could lose their jobs,

3. Sun-Krad is a shark.

So I'll use nicknames and vague job descriptions:

"Sally" > Long-time friend and booking agent/tour promoter crew, had never worked with DEG before but knows the J-rock scene very well (this promoter company specialises in J-rock). Spent two days with the band.

"Anne" > reporter colleague, doesn't specialise in J-rock but works with the metal scene and has interviewed Dir en Grey a bunch of times. Spent a few hours with the band.

Come closer, Tumblr person and read juicy, pointless stuff about us, dixit GIF Toshiya (GIF by japanese-zombie-heroez)

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Sally:

"They're extremely professional and have their logistics down to a T. Their managers on the scene do most of the pre-show work. They're also super protective of the band and make sure they don't encounter fans or that nobody crosses the line with them. They'll literally stand on the side of the stage looking on like bouncers. They're practically on stage with them. The band hang around the room on occasion but not much."

Anne:

"Brilliant band. Their sound is like nothing I've listened to before. Can't say much about the people because I didn't exactly hang out with them. Their fans are very intense but surprisingly tame during the show. Only 2-3 crowd surfers, really?"

"Friendly reminder to stay hydrated" - GIF Die. (GIF by japanese-zombie-heroez.)

DIE IMPRESSIONS

Sally:

"He hung around a lot, and he's very nice. He also speaks some English. He and Toshiya are the only ones who attempt to communicate in English. Everyone else just shoots panicked glances at the translator when someone talks to them lol."

Anne:

"Very polite person. Jealous of his hair and kind of pissed that I don't have such nice hair. His guitar playing is weird, though. Sometimes he pulls off super hard stuff, but can get kind of sloppy with the easy stuff."

"Would you like smth from my mini fridge? " - GIF Kaoru (GIF by japanese-zombie-heroez)

KAORU IMPRESSIONS

Sally:

"I read the part where you mentioned his room being a mess, but did you see any of the other rooms? They were all a mess during stage prep. They left them super clean when they left, though. Not one tissue or can left behind. Even the trashcans had been emptied. On Kaoru, he did a lot of the talking and is very much at ease with people but doesn't speak much English. I agree that he's a chill guy. but very fussy about sound quality and stuff."

Anne:

"That's the guy who looks like Johnny Depp. Solid guitarist although he doesn't play the hard parts much. I don't remember seeing much of him on stage, which is a shame because when he moves from his spot he has great charisma."

"It says here that I'm awesome and stuff." - GIF Toshiya. (GIF by Totchiiiii)

TOSHIYA IMPRESSIONS

Sally:

"Lovely. Hands-down the sweetest person in that band. He has a very calm and patient demeanour. Cool dad energy, really."

Anne:

"My first thought was 'ouch, his poor back". Why does he have to wear his bass so low? I'm genuinely worried about his vertebrae. I liked his wedding (?) stage dress. Very well-dressed off-stage too. He was very nice and smiley."

"Apparently I'm a slightly annoyed but polite little guy, heh." - GIF Kyo. (GIF by yridenergyyridenergy)

KYO IMPRESSIONS

Sally:

"Honestly? Barely saw him. He didn't do any of the sound tests himself. He reeked of Chanel no. 5 or some other very strong perfume. You knew when he was in the room because you could smell him. You mentioned him walking up and down the hallway for no reason - he also did that before the show. I think he was nervous. "

Anne:

"Crazy looks. He has these huge eyes and I can see why people say he looks scary. Would play a great demon child in a film. He looked tired and kind of annoyed during the whole convo but was very polite whenever we talked to him. I think he was more intimidated by us than us by him. On stage, he does a complete 180."

"Just so you know, I'm not hiding in Kaoru's mini-fridge. I'm alive and well." - GIF Shinya. (GIF by totchiiiiiii)

SHINYA IMPRESSIONS

Sally:

"He looks like... wow. The most androgynous person ever. He's also so, so thin. He was surprisingly outgoing and seemed to have a sense of humour. People in his staff talked to him a lot and he made these funny, startled faces. I think he's the band's comic relief. His drum set took a long time to put together too."

Anne:

"How can that guy drum like that? You can barely see him on stage but you sure can hear him. His image doesn't match his drum ability at all. Whatever brief interactions I had with him, he was extremely nice. Shy but nice."

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Let me know if I messed up GIF crediting. I'm trying.

#dir en grey

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artofvisualshock · 4 days

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