THE NEW BOYS' CLUB GUYS FIND REFUGE IN GARAGES, THE LATEST TREND IN RETREATS.

Byline: Diana McKeon Charkalis Lifestyle Editor

When Chris Carter wants to work, relax or hang out with friends, he goes out -- to the garage.

Carter, a founding member of the alt-rock band Dramarama, has created a rock 'n' roll shrine in his Sherman Oaks garage that serves all these purposes. Outfitted with carpeting, heating, AC and a big-screen TV that's ``always on,'' the room is crammed with carefully organized music memorabilia.

``It's kind of like a museum. My friends call it `the lab.'''

The garage has long been the domain of men and their cars. But in recent years, the decidedly masculine venue has been cleaned up, renovated and tricked out.

In 2005, U.S. homeowners spent more than $3 billion on their garages, according to the National Association of Homebuilders. And the uses are ever-expanding. Nowhere is this more true than in California, where the climate allows for cars to be curbed outside year-round, leaving space for guys to create their own private niche.

``The garage is kind of like the Moose Lodge of the 21st century,'' says editor Robert Ross. He and some other executives of CurtCo Media, the Malibu-based company that produces more than a dozen magazine titles, including The Robb Report, share a San Fernando Valley garage space where they work, entertain and relax alongside their phenomenal collection of automobiles. Ross conducts a tour, with a microfiber towel tucked in his pants pocket; the attractions include a 1966 Lamborghini 400 GT, a 2006 Maserati GranSport and a 2006 Rolls-Royce Phantom.

``The idea is it's a place where cars are essentially sculpture,'' Ross says. ``They're three-dimensional art, and they function as the most significant part of the interior.''

That garage's amenities include climate control, video, music and satellite TV, along with ``the requisite wine and spirits and cigars,'' says Ross.

Single-malt scotch and aged Partagas cigars are contained in a wine cabinet/humidor combo that is both temperature- and humidity-controlled. ``Those are the kinds of things a lot of our guests like to enjoy. It's a little clubhouse.''

Like Vegas, what happens in the garage, stays in the garage. Carter, who hosts the ``Breakfast with the Beatles'' radio show on L.A.'s KLSX-FM (97.1), admits hosting A-list celebrities in his space, but he won't name names.

``We'd sit here for four hours just watching old Beatles footage.''

There indeed is a heavy emphasis on the Fab Four in his garage: One corner houses psychedelic Beatles memorabilia solely from 1967. A framed platinum record commemorating George Harrison's ``All Things Must Pass,'' is the focal point of one wall. And there are plenty of references to other bands, from the Stones to Bob Dylan and T. Rex. Vintage copies of the rock magazine Creem are scattered about; it's a publication Carter just purchased.

He estimates the room holds most, but not all of the memorabilia he has collected in the last 20 years.

While there isn't a sign on the door that reads ``no women and children,'' sometimes these spaces are considered a kind of refuge.

``We don't have a preponderance of women who come here,'' Ross admits, adding, ``And I don't have kids, but if I did, this would be a place where I would come to get away from the Sturm und Drang that is the household.''

But boys don't just want to have fun in their garages. Carter, a night owl, has meetings and works on his radio show, all while his wife and preschool-age daughter sleep.

``I really come up with a lot of cool stuff when it's quiet and dark.''

In fact, California garages have been the birthplace of many strokes of entrepreneurial brilliance. According to Bill West, author of ``Your Garagenous Zone'' (Paragon; $21.95) Walt Disney got his start in a West Hollywood garage owned by his uncle Bill in 1923, where he paid $1 in rent per month. The Hewlett-Packard company was born in a garage in Palo Alto, and a garage in Downey was where Metallica first rocked out.

``The garage has indeed had an evolution,'' says West, whose own three-car space has served as a Cub Scout meeting room, a party spot for wine tastings, and his own personal gym. A professional organizer, he uses a fold-up treadmill and a TV that swivels out of the way to accommodate cars.

On his Web site (www.garagenouszone.com), he showcases other unusual garages, including one created by a man who uses his to display an extensive collection of fly-fishing paraphernalia. ``He's taken it to a whole new level, and it's really cool.''

In the infamous tome ``Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus,'' author John Gray alludes to the garage when he asserts that men deal with stress by ``retreating into their cave.'' While this may or may not be true, the garage does offer a space for solitary reflection.

``It's really a tranquil place,'' says Ross. ``There is absolutely an escapist aspect to the whole thing. And you can get a lot of thinking done. Even when you're doing things as mundane as waxing and polishing. There's something very therapeutic (about it). And it's a lot cheaper in the long run than a psychiatrist, other than the initial buy-in.''

For Carter, it's also about nostalgia. As he gazes around his garage, he smiles.

``My bedroom when I was a little kid looked just like this -- it was a a junior version of what you see here.''

Diana McKeon Charkalis, [phone]

diana.charkalis(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

8 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Garage rock!

Men create their own private getaways

(2 -- 5 -- color) Robert Ross, above, a CurtCo Media executive, gets away from it all at his company's San Fernando Valley garage space, which features office space, a collection of classic cars, a well-stocked bar and a comfortable TV-viewing area.

(6 -- 8 -- color) Chris Carter, above, under a poster of ``Mayor of the Sunset Strip,'' which he produced, and on the cover playing the bass, keeps a substantial music memorabilia collection in his converted Sherman Oaks garage.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer