IN: Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original lineup of Jasin Todd as guitarist, Brad Stewart on bass, and Barry Kerch on drums. Consistent for the first two album cycles, a few lineup changes followed in the late 2000s, eventually stabilizing with Smith and Kerch alongside Zach Myers on guitar and Eric Bass on bass. The group has released five studio albums:

The band didn't start work on a follow up album until 2005, with the band finding the touring lifestyle too hectic to start writing or recording material. This however, left the band with limited time to record new music, with their record label pressuring the band to get the album out in a six-month time period. Despite the time restrictions, the label did not pressure the band on the album's musical direction after the commercial success of Leave a Whisper. The band worked with music producer Tony Battaglia, and chose to go in a more "mature" and "stripped down" direction for the album's sound, Kerch describing it as just "pure rock". During the same time, the band was also approached by Hollywood Records to record a song for a tribute album for the band Queen, something the band agreed to out of their respect for the band. They recorded a cover of the track "Tie Your Mother Down", which was released on Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen, released in August 2005.  The band released their second studio album, Us and Them, on October 4, 2005. The album debuted higher than Leave a Whisper on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 23 versus Leave a Whisper's number 53 peak, but the album ultimately sold less than its predecessor. Despite this, the band's three singles from the album, "Save Me," "I Dare You," and "Heroes", ended up being more successful than their prior album's singles. The lead single, "Save Me" was the band's first to reach the number one spot on the Mainstream Rock Charts, and held the position for twelve weeks in a row. The second single, "I Dare You", also peaked at number 2 on the same chart. Notably, both songs were also the band's first to have crossover success on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, hitting 72 and 88 respectively.  The band again toured heavily in support of the album, including the 2006 iteration of the SnoCore Tour with Seether, Flyleaf, and Halestorm, and later opening for the Godsmack and Rob Zombie co-headlining tour of North America. Promotional support came from other areas as well; then-American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry performed "I Dare You" live on the show, helping its crossover appeal, and was used as a theme song for WrestleMania 22. The success of the singles helped propel sales of the album in the long run, ultimately being certified gold by the RIAA on November 13, 2006. and as of 2013, Smith had estimated that sales sat at approximately 990,000 copies sold.
QUESTION: Did the album do well on the charts?
IN: Orville Willis Forte IV was born in Alameda County, California. His father, Orville Willis Forte III, is a financial broker, and his mother, Patricia C. (nee Stivers), is an artist and former schoolteacher. He was raised in Moraga, before moving to Lafayette. He went by Billy in his early years until he was teased at school for it also being a girl's name, at which point he decided he would from there on be known as Will.

He began taking classes at the Groundlings in Los Angeles, an improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school, while tutoring children to make ends meet. Forte's first successful foray into comedy was 101 Things to Definitely Not Do If You Want to Get a Chick, a comic book he produced that details incompetent men. The comics landed him his first professional job writing for The Jenny McCarthy Show, a short-lived variety show starring Jenny McCarthy. Shortly thereafter, he was asked to submit a packet to the Late Show with David Letterman and was told Letterman responded favorably to animation. After only nine months at Letterman, he was "let go" from the job. He recalled his stint on the program as unpleasant, noting that he did not have enough experience in writing. "What an honor to work at that show but I don't think I was fully mentally prepared. [...] I always wonder what it would be like if I'd had a couple more years of experience before going there."  Forte returned to Los Angeles and began performing with the Groundlings' Main Company, with Cheryl Hines, Jim Rash and Maya Rudolph. He tried stand-up comedy three times, mostly at open mic nights, but quit after being voted into the Main Company. He joined the writing teams of two failed sitcoms, including The Army Show and Action. Forte got jobs writing for 3rd Rock from the Sun and That '70s Show, two successful programs. He loved writing but had mostly given up on acting, aside from acting with the Groundlings. While performing with the troupe in 2001, he was spotted by Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live (SNL). Forte felt his confidence was higher than usual, as That '70s Show had been picked up for two more years. He was invited to audition for SNL, which he regarded as unexpected.  At his audition for SNL, he performed multiple original characters, including Tim Calhoun, a speed reader, a prison guard, in addition to impressions of singer Michael McDonald and actor Martin Sheen. His final character was an older piece from his days with the Groundlings, in which he portrays a gold-painted street performer who performs fellatio to pay for his face paint, which devolves into a song needlessly uttering the words "cock" and "face paint" dozens of times. He felt his time to shine as a performer was already over, as he was in his thirties when he auditioned. To his surprise, he was offered a chance to be on the show, but declined, opting instead for the financial stability of his work at That '70s Show. He felt working for SNL could not live up to the idealized version he had dreamed of, but he later realized he would be making a mistake.
QUESTION:
What other writing jobs did he do?