Béla wrote a trio of tunes back in the 1980's for Jerry Douglas' album Changing Channels: Distance, Winter's Edge, and Blue Spruce. Douglas released Distance and Winter's Edge on his album, but Béla ultimately opted to keep Blue Spruce for himself. All 3 tunes were played throughout the late 80's at Acoustic Allstars and Strength in Numbers shows and later, usually when touring with Edgar Meyer.

In the 1990s, Béla reused the same guitar riff in the Flecktones' tune Communication.

Despite the similarities, Béla continued playing both songs, Communication with the Flecktones and Blue Spruce, usually when touring alongside Edgar Meyer. He finally released a version of Blue Spruce on his 2004 live album, Music for Two, almost 20 years after it was written.