It works!

Here is my grub configuration:

Code:
kernel (hd0,2)/KNOPPIX/(...) console=tty12 silent quiet splash
This disables all but error messages upon boot. Best of all, you can still see them by pressing Ctrl-Alt-F12. And in KANOTIX BH8, there is also the tux logo disabled by default. Looks great and is exactly what I wanted. (I use it with my personalized splash.sh script).

probono