All Blacks and Highlanders halfback Aaron Smith has come to the aid of an up-and-coming Dunedin band putting together their debut album.
Smith offered to lend a hand to Summer Thieves after seeing on Facebook they were raising money to finish their album.
Bass player Adam Spencer said it was a nice surprise when Smith handed over one of his test jerseys signed by the whole All Blacks team, who are in Dunedin for tomorrow night's test.
"He has seen the link on our Facebook page and thought that donating money is one thing, but donating something that could generate its own value would be better.''
Smith was not the only well-known New Zealander giving the reggae/rock/fun band a hand, with musician Tiki Taane producing their debut album.
"We were approached by Tiki and it was too good of an opportunity not to take.''
Tiki Taane had already helped them record the album at University of Otago's Albany Street Studio, but more money was needed to finish it off, including for mixing and mastering.
"That's where all the money is.''
The band, formed in 2011, had raised more than $1900 of their $10,000 goal through the crowd-sourcing website Kickstarter and they were selling Smith's jersey online.
