Grounds performed and worked in the production of the Starry Eyed show over the past six years, but decided to make his first foray into songwriting with keyboardist and composer brother Kevin as they neared the age of 40.
The result of their partnership is showcased in the Cremation of Dreams, an evening of original songs that will also feature acoustic bassist Richard Grahame and Queenstown residents Sam Healey (bass), Nigel Hirst (guitar) and Tom Maxwell (guitar and drums).
The Grounds brothers have come up with some unorthodox topics to sing about.
Apple G is about a teenaged girl who develops a cyberspace romance with a sadistic killer and meets her doom.
Another song tells of a stripper named Raven, who is killed by a man whose feelings of desire and murder are interlinked.
"I just find a lot of the stuff you read about that human beings do to each other very disturbing, and I try to understand how the mind could go so wrong," Grounds said.
The show will be the second production from Tom Waits For No Man, after the first of the same name in November last year.
Pianist-vocalist Mark Wilson and celtic flautist and vocalist Karen Reid are guest performers, and Queenstown entertainer Margaret O'Hanlon will perform her own compositions.
"The aim of the evening is really the fact that live music is not only alive and kicking, it has a perspective, a conscience and something to say," O'Hanlon said.
"Our aim with Tom Waits For No Man productions is to present the cutting edge of original music in a concert atmosphere."
The Cremation Of Dreams will be performed in the Wakatipu Anglican Parish Centre, next to St Peter's Church, tomorrow at 8pm.
Tickets are $15 and are available at the door.
