The soundtrack of Sensei Glenn Raus

You may know Sensei Glenn Raus for founding and running Osupurē Karate on Daniel Island, but there’s another side to the sensei that doesn’t involve a karate belt.

Outside of karate, Raus is a talented musician who has contributed to the island’s live music scene and around the Lowcountry, and he’s been busy working on some new tunes of his own.  

His musical journey began way back in sixth grade, when he was inspired by the saxophone player from Earth, Wind & Fire and decided to take saxophone lessons at school. Soon, his parents agreed to buy Raus his very own saxophone, but there were strings attached.  

“It was $200. So my parents made me agree that if they bought me the saxophone, I would practice it for 30 minutes a day, except on Sundays, take a weekly lesson at school and over the summer at a local music store, and play in the concert band until I graduated,” Raus said. “So I did.”  

That same saxophone is still with him more than 50 years later. While it may no longer be his primary instrument, Raus still dusts it off every now and then.  

“I don't play often, but I can still pick it up and belt out a tune if I need to.”  

In college, Raus spontaneously decided to add another instrument to his repertoire: the bass guitar. It seemed like a fairly simple instrument to learn and something he could play from the couch while his roommate played guitar.  

“Within three weeks of buying that bass guitar, I was standing on stage in a band playing in an open mic night,” Raus said.  

His college band, Amazing Larry’s, lasted for several years. After all this time, Raus and his former bandmates recently released their recorded music, along with some live songs – giving a very old musical project a brand-new audience.  

It wasn’t until 1996, when Raus first moved to Charleston, that he picked up the guitar. His brother gave him an old acoustic guitar, and Raus decided to teach himself how to play. 

“I just started teaching myself how to play guitar. And for, oh god, 20 years, I was a pretty crappy, self-taught acoustic guitarist,” Raus said.  

Then came 2014, when The Beatles celebrated the 50th anniversary of their iconic appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Raus decided it was time to put his guitar skills to the test and learn some Beatles songs. That eventually led him to take lessons at the former Black Tie Music Academy on Daniel Island, where he studied privately with Val Mackend, who had taught guitar in New York City since the 1970s before moving to Charleston.  

Mackend helped Raus accomplish one of his longtime musical goals.  

“One of the songs that I had always wanted to learn how to play was “Scarborough Fair” from Simon and Garfunkel, and I had always told myself if I could ever play that song, I’d be happy and consider myself a decent guitar player. Well, she taught me how to play that in about eight months,” Raus said.  

From there, Raus began playing local gigs and writing and producing his own music. He performed at Orlando’s Pizza, the Daniel Island Farmers Market, Wasabi, and other local spots, gradually becoming a familiar face, and sound, around the island.  

In 2018, Raus co-wrote one of his first songs following the death of a friend’s son. The song became part of his debut five-song EP, “You Don’t Know Me.”  

Raus continued releasing music, ranging from the heartfelt to the downright silly, including a song he calls “Stagecoach Holdup.” His second EP, “Frog,” was produced with the help of his friend Earl Owens.  

The title came from the space where the music was made: Raus and Owens’ frog space, a finished room above their garages that they used as a makeshift recording studio. To carry the theme a little further, the beginning and end of the album feature the faint sounds of frogs, recorded from a neighborhood pond. Another song even incorporates the sound of the bells from St. Clare of Assisi Church, adding a little Daniel Island magic to the soundtrack.  

This summer, Raus and Owens returned to their recording space to produce another album, this time a collection of nine songs titled “Cover to Cover,” set to be released Sept. 25.  

“It's nine songs that I love that are kind of obscure, and each one is just a guitar and my voice,” Raus said. “There's no drums or bass or anything like that, and each song is played on a different one of my nine guitars.” 

He says the stripped-down approach allows each song to stand on its own, without additional instrumentation to distract from the melody or lyrics.  

“If a song isn't interesting to listen to with me just playing it on an acoustic guitar and singing, then it's probably not a strong song.”  

For Raus, music is more than simply playing an instrument or performing for an audience; it’s about memory. He says music is his number one passion and describes having a rich and vivid soundtrack to his life.  

“I can listen to a song, and it immediately takes me back to when I was six and my mom was cooking dinner, or back to the early ’80s when I was in high school, or back to when my daughter was born and we were moving into our first home,” Raus said. “To me, music is one of those things that truly triggers the happy moments of my life.” 

He stands by this mantra: “If you want something to be better, you add music to it.”  

That same love of music is evident when Raus performs live. He says the Daniel Island music community has been particularly supportive over the years, noting memorable performances at the Waterfront Park acoustic guitar series.  

“A long time ago, I heard a great quote about live music. ‘People don't know what they like; they like what they know,’” Raus said. That philosophy often finds its way onto his setlists, with familiar favorites such as “Yellow” by Coldplay, “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms, and songs by Elton John and other artists from the 1950s onward – anything that might get an audience singing along.  

Whether he’s teaching a karate class or picking up one of his nine guitars, Raus has managed to weave a lot of different notes into his life. And there’s more music on the way.  

In addition to the release of “Cover to Cover” on Sept. 25, Raus is scheduled to perform live at New Realm Brewing on Saturday, Oct. 24.  

Because for Raus, life is better with a little music in the background.