Entertainment

10:01 PM CDT on Tuesday, June 6, 2006

By HUNTER HAUK / Quick

If you've visited TexasGigs.com in the last couple of weeks and wondered about the lack of posts from the site's founder, Cindy Chaffin, wonder no more. She's no longer affiliated with TexasGigs. Hard to imagine, since she's been the ubiquitous face and voice of the site since its inception.

Earlier this year, Ms. Chaffin and TexasGigs joined forces with the still-in-development Pegasus News Web site. Pegasus lent many of its staff members to TexasGigs, who helped add new content to the popular online local music destination. But Pegasus president Mike Orren says it was Ms. Chaffin's decision to leave her online home.

Around Memorial Day, Ms. Chaffin "told me that she wanted to go back to doing a more personal Web site," similar to what TexasGigs had been before the merger, says Mr. Orren.

"At that point, she still owned the TexasGigs name, so we worked something out there so that we could keep it and she could move on," he said.

Calls and e-mails to Ms. Chaffin for comment were not returned Tuesday afternoon.

Mr. Orren says the split was amicable: "When she launches her new site, we plan to link to it like crazy," he says.

Since Ms. Chaffin started TexasGigs.com in 2002, she's been a unique and persistent voice in the Dallas local music scene. In the Web site's earliest incarnation, Ms. Chaffin offered breathless praise for her favorite local bands, mixed in with comprehensive concert listings and streaming audio programs. When the merge with Pegasus News happened, the site added more bloggers, band profile pages, free downloads and reader-driven news, among other features. The site won Editor & Publisher's 2006 Eppy Award for "best Internet entertainment service under 1 million" monthly visitors.

According to an item posted on TexasGigs Tuesday night, Ms. Chaffin's new Web site, The Fine Line (www.finelinelive.com), will see a full launch on Saturday.

E-mail hhauk@quickdfw.com