My God, I hadn’t listened to this song in about fifteen years, but when I finally heard it again today, it brought back everything from the Maryland/D.C. music scene of the 90s. Asylum is the title track of the debut album by Unorthodox, released in 1992. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDBzwQE0HLA What other band had songs with arrangements like this? What band except Unorthodox could be so heavy and still play it so pretty? At 1:38 a breathtaking instrumental section begins. The atmosphere it creates...beautiful. You don’t write things like this without being something of a musical genius. Drummer Ronnie Kalimon does an outstanding job here. This would not have had nearly the same effect on the listeners without his stellar drumming. At 2:51 the music once again transcends to another level. This sound…this is what autumn in Maryland feels like. All conveyed with guitar, bass and drums. Then you add the charismatic vocals of Dale Flood and it takes you to that state of mind. “My child of love…the innocent one”

Has a song ever moved me to tears? Hell yeah! A number of songs have. I think guys tend to be hesitant to talk about this, since crying isn’t seen as manly and of course, I get it. I really do. As men, we're supposed to be tough. This isn’t crying from weakness though. This has nothing to do with how tough I am. This is crying as a result of being heavily emotionally moved by the beauty of a song! I’m a musician. I have to feel things strongly to do what I do. There have been times when if tears were blood, I'd have needed a transfusion as a result of being overwhelmed by the power and beauty of music. One beautiful lady’s music has caused me to spill quite a few tears. Her name is Tori Amos and I've been to five of her concerts. Tori Amos is a phenomenally talented singer, songwriter and piano player. She was the youngest person ever admitted into the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She was five years old. Peabody is for classical music. Around the age of twelve, Tori got expelled from Peabody for continually insisting on playing rock music. It showed she had the right attitude for the rock music world. Still, the seven years she studied there gave her a great musical background! I don’t think there are too many musicians who deliver the emotional intensity Tori Amos does. Many tears have been spilled listening to her songs. Her song Precious Things is a song so exquisite that it can have that effect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpk_ZjdGPnE&t=3s If you listen to the live performance of Precious Things that I've included, you’ll notice that at 5:25 into the video you will hear her being transformed by her music. She's abandoning all inhibitions to dare to be vulnerable enough, to leave herself so exposed as to let her audience see into her soul! Tori Amos is also one of the most passionate live performers I've ever seen. She gives her all in every concert. Once in a while, in a transcendent moment, she’ll even go beyond just “giving her all.” At those moments it’s almost like a religious experience. It's certainly a spiritual experience!