According to Shinya in SHOXX #96, he and Kyo (京) met for the first time when Kyo came to watch Shinya's session band in August 1995. It's unclear if Shinya means Ruby or an unspecified band.
In the same magazine, Shinya mentions that he and Die met for the first time when Ruby and Ka・za・ri performed at the same live in September.
Toshiya and the future members of Dir en grey meet for the first time when he comes to greet La:Sadie's after their live.
The first concert of the band that would become Dir en grey. They met the day before and in the morning, they booked two hours of studio time to practice. At the show, they covered around four songs by KUROYUME under the name DEATHMASK. Toshiya also performed with D†L as their support guitarist.
Nagano (長野) J
Dir en grey (ディル アン グレイ Diru an gurei) officially forms.
The name is a combination of German "dir", French "en" and English "grey" and, according to an interview in Apres Guerre #19 (March 1997), was thought to mean "Grey Silver Coin" (灰色の銀貨 Haiiro no Ginka). It was supposed to convey a music and an image that wasn't caught by neither black or white, so they picked "grey".
Interestingly, there's a demo tape released in 1995 by the visual-kei band LAREINE, one of the songs on that tape is called "Dir en gray". It opens with the line "灰色のあなたに dir en gray" (Haiiro no anata ni dir en gray), which both means "To you in gray" and would actually fit the intended meaning of the words, as opposed to "Grey Silver Coin". In the aforementioned interview, Kyo also mentions that he knew that phrase before, so Lareine's song is most likely the source for Dir en grey's band name. Why they thought that "dir" means "silver coin" remains unclear, but they would later become aware of their mistake.
In turn, Lareine got the name "Dir en gray" from a band called Dir & Gray, a visual-kei band that was active around 1991. The original meaning behind the name was "dill of grey colour" (dill is usually white) and was coined by guitarist SHOW. Interestingly, their name was written with the same Katakana as Dir En Grey, ディル・アン・グレイ, even though "and" would be written as アンド (ando) in Japanese.
According to Toshiya on the radio show Nack5 FM Triangle Super Audition, one of the other names the members had in mind was Kisaragi. It was taken from a high school band of Toshiya.
V. Kyo (京) / G. Kaoru (薫) / G. Die / B. Toshiya / D. Shinya
Event tour 覇叉羅 presents JENOSIDE ZONE vol.5 begins. Dir en grey participates in four secret lives.
Nagoya (名古屋) NAGOYA CLUB QUATTRO
Namba (難波) W'OHOL
Fukuoka (福岡) DRUM Logos
Shibuya (渋谷) ON AIR WEST
Event Club Citta' Kawasaki Shusai Event (クラブチッタ川崎主催イベント) takes place. Dir en grey participates in secret.
Kawasaki (川崎) CLUB CITTA'
Event HYPER MIX takes place. Dir en grey participates in secret.
Namba (難波) ROCKETS
Event Kessei Kinen Oneman Live (結成記念ワンマンライブ) takes place as Dir en grey's first official live.
Namba (難波) ROCKETS
Event NEO Behind the Mask takes place. Dir en grey participates in secret.
Meguro (目黒) ROCKMAYKAN
Two-days Oneman Live (ワンマンライブ) takes place. Dir en grey gives out a special message tape at each show.
Meguro (目黒) ROCKMAYKAN
Osaka (大阪) COWBOY WORLD
Instore event at Osaka (大阪) DEAD ONE.
Instore event at Kyoto (京都) JEUGIA Sanjo Main Store.
Instore event at Shinjuku (新宿) LIKE AN EDISON.
Instore event at Shibuya (渋谷) INDIES HOUSE.
Instore event at Harajuku (原宿) ROCK LOVE.
Instore event at Osaka (大阪) JEEZ Shinsabashi Store.
Event tour 8 Beat Gag Sokan Kinen Ranbu Live SHOCK WAVE' 97 vol.2 (8ビート・ギャグ創刊記念ライブ SHOCK WAVE’ 97 vol.2) begins (dates: 07-26 & 31, 08-21 and 09-01).
Namba (難波) W'OHOL
Kawasaki (川崎) CLUB CITTA'
Two-places event Album "MISSA" Hatsubai Kinen (アルバム「MISSA」発売記念2Days) takes place to commemerate the release of Dir en grey's first mini-album MISSA.
Osaka (大阪) COWBOY WORLD
Osaka (大阪) COWBOY WORLD
Shinjuku (新宿) LOFT
Shinjuku (新宿) LOFT
Instore event at Shinjuku (新宿) Teito Musen.
Ichikawa (市川) CLUB GIO
Event Neo Behind the Mask takes place.
Ueno Mizukami Amphitheater (上野水上野外音楽堂)
Tour Dir en grey Presents MAZOHYST OF DECADENCE SHOW begins.
Kyoto (京都) MUSE HALL
Namba (難波) W'OHOL
Nagoya (名古屋) HEART LAND
Meguro (目黒) ROCKMAYKAN
Meguro (目黒) ROCKMAYKAN
Event EXPERIENCE EYES '97 takes place.
Akasaka (赤坂) BLITZ
Two-days CRUCIFY OF MARIA ・・・TO “MISSA” Anata no "Biteki・Hatsujō・Ka" o yobiokosu (CRUCIFY OF MARIA ・・・TO “MISSA” あなたの『美的・発情・香』を呼び起こす) takes place.
Shibuya (渋谷) ON AIR WEST
Kyoto (京都) MUSE HALL