Citations Pre-Sav Enterprises 45 The Day That She'll Go

The Citations

The Citations photo
The Citations at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, 1966
From left: John Grasso, Mike Messineo Bob Oreal, Gene DiMaio, John Fichera and Michael DiResta

Citations Pre-Sav Enterprises 45 The Day That She'll Go

There were several groups called the Citations recording in the ’60s including ones from Alabama, Maine, Ohio and, most famously, the band from Milwaukee who cut “Moon Race” / “Slippin’ and Slidin'”.

The Citations I’m featuring today were from Lawrence and Methuen, Massachusetts. Though obscure, their July, 1966 release on Pre-Sav Enterprises has two excellent original songs.

“Long Time Wanderin'” was the A-side, a good upbeat cut, but most garage fans prefer the flip, “The Day That She’ll Go”, a good example of the New England sound – moody and with a dense, almost murky production but plenty of atmosphere and emotion.

I had almost no info on the group until I heard from James DiResta, the brother of guitarist Mike DiResta. He sent in the photo seen at top and gave me the names of the band members.

Gino DiMaio – bass and lead vocals
John Grasso – lead guitar
Mike DiResta – rhythm guitar
John Fichera – keyboards
Bob Oreal, Mike Messineo – drums

James wrote to me, “My brother Mike is on the right playing the single cut-away Guild guitar, and wrote the songs on the record. The Vox amps were the original tube amps from England with adapters to play in USA. The club that they use to practice out of, and were the house band for, was the Raven on the Methuen – Haverhill line in Massachusetts. The record had its debut at Turn-Style in South Lawrence and later they showcased at the Hampton Casino.”

Citations Pre-Sav Enterprises 45 Long Time Wanderin'

5 thoughts on “The Citations”

    1. Hi there. I stumbled across this site, I happen to have been their Drummer in the late 60’s early 70’s Other members we’re. Mike Deresta,
      John Fischera, Gene Dimaio and myself. And we mostly came from Lawrence and Methuen area. I have not seen these guys since we
      Stop playing 40 something years ago . I have photo’s of us if you
      Ever come across any please let me know .
      Thanks , mike m

  1. Hello: My name is Frank Quinn and I, along with George Grigas were the band aids for the group. I have heard the name Mike Messineo and he might have sat in with the group on occasion but he wasn’t the regular drummer. The drummer in the picture above is Bob Oreal and he was the fifth member along with Johnny Grasso, Mike DiResta, Gene Dimaio and John Fischera. Bob Oreal became a teacher at Methuen High School in Methuen, MA.

    1. John Fichera became a teacher at Bedford Public schools in Bedford, MA and taught 4th and 5th grade. He passed away about a week ago

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.