Next to the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, it seemed the most unlikely miracle: The four original members of Asia have reunited and are starting the next leg of a world tour right here in Florida.

Asia plays Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall on Thursday, June 14, so I get to fulfill the fantasy of seeing the complete band play live in concert. (To ensure that I survive the remaining 7 days until the concert, I'm not leaving the house, eating red meat, watching presidential news conferences or sitting too close to the TV.)

This week's Stuck in the 80s podcast celebrates the Asia reunion and ... AND ... features an interview with drummer Carl Palmer. I spoke to Carl for about a half hour on the phone from London, where the band was ready to begin rehearsals again.

Here are some highlights:

On the success of their debut album: "The music business is about timing, and if it's the first place and the right time for your product, something's going to happen. ... If we were to re-release that album again or album as good, I doubt it would have the impression that it created then."

His thought on the second album, Alpha: "It wasn't very deep. There wasn't anything musically complicated about it. ... You know what they say, 'It takes you 20 years to write that first album, and you’ve got to write the second one in 20 minutes.' "

On fans' reaction to the reunion tour: "I've been incredibly surprised. I didn't think the band would be accepted as well as it has been after such a long layoff. It is nostalgia -- we're fully aware of that."

On the bands' next plans: "We've decided we might record some retro material. There's a DVD ["Fantasia: Live in Tokyo"] that we just finished. ... And we'll look at new material. ... We're in no rush to do it. The world is not waiting for an Asia album -- we all know that."

Click here to listen to the full podcast and interview. Or click here to subscribe to the entire series for free via iTunes.