And to answer the second question - yes, Ronnie was in Shooting Star before joining Kansas. Both bands had played a festival of some sort up in WI or MN, I think, so Kansas was well aware of Ronnie's vocal abilities. When Steve's retirement was announced,
Ronnie messaged Rich asking for some consideration. Rich has stated many times that they already knew he could sing, but they wanted to find out if they could live with him on the road. They flew him to Atlanta to meet, and spent a couple/few hours with
him - but only a tiny portion talking "business". I think it was the next day that Ronnie got the "you've got the gig" message from Phil.
There are MANY interviews with Ronnie online where he tells this story. Search a bit, watch a few, and you'll have a much better sense of the story than I've relayed here.
George P.