Japan's DIR EN GREY In Talks To Support KORN On U.S. Tour

April 18, 2006

Billboard.com is reporting that Japanese band DIR EN GREY, who made their stateside debut with a showcase at last month's South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas before following it up by stops at the 800-capacity Avalon in New York and the 2,000-capacity Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles (both of which sold out within hours of being announced online),are in talks to support KORN on 33 dates of their summer tour, according to Bob Chiappardi, co-president of Warcon Enterprises (DIR EN GREY's American label/distributor),as well as another source close to the band.

The tour deal has yet to be announced. "We're in negotiations about them performing on tour with KORN this summer," says Peter Katsis of the Firm, one of KORN's day-to-day managers. "We saw a performance at the Wiltern and were blown away."

What's just as surprising as the rabid reception for DIR EN GREY is that the Japanese-speaking band gained its audience without singing in English. The quintet has been building in popularity in its home country for about 10 years, releasing four full-length albums through either Firewall Div or Free-Will Japan and a variety of singles and video collections.

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